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Budget session begins today

Photo: Subir Roy

Uttar Pradesh Congress president Rita Bahuguna Joshi at a press conference in Lucknow on Thursday.

LUCKNOW: A month-long Budget session of the Uttar Pradesh legislature will begin here on Friday with the Governor, T. V. Rajeswar’s address to a joint sitting of the two Houses. It will be the opening session of the year 2008.

The State Budget for 2008-09 will be presented by Finance Minister Lalji Verma on February 12. The session will end on March 14.

With the Samajwadi Party, Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress deciding to corner the Bahujan Samaj Party-led Government on a host of issues, the session is expected to be stormy. Among the issues, the drought situation in the Bundelkhand region, the depressed state of the cane farmers and the alleged atrocities on Opposition political workers and the registration of alleged fake cases against them, mainly those of the Samajwadi Party and the Congress, are likely to dominate the proceedings.

The Samajwadi Legislature Party at a meeting here on Thursday decided to raise the issues of Bundelkhand, exploitation of farmers and non-payment of sugarcane dues in the House. The meeting was presided over by the Leader of Opposition in the State Assembly, Mulayam Singh.

UP Congress Committee president Rita Bahuguna Joshi made it clear on Thursday that the Congress would raise three main issues: Bundelkhand, fake cases registered against the MLA from Muzaffarnagar, Pankaj Malik, and alleged misuse of Central funds.

Dr. Joshi told a press conference that all the schemes in the drought-hit Bundelkhand region were being implemented with Central funds. She alleged that Chief Minister Mayawati had misled the public by stating at her Jhansi rally on January 29 that the Central Government was not giving money to the State.

The UPCC chief said Rs.28,560 crore had been given by the Centre to the State Government between April 1, 2007, and February 6, 2008.

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