SAD-BJP ministers troop out, only FM hears ruling benches praise budget

Saturday, 21/03/2015

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CHANDIGARH: How good is the Punjab budget? The ruling Shiromani Akali Dal and BJP ministers could not care less to know. As the first speaker from the ruling benches — BJP MLA Manoranjan Kalia — got up to speak, both SAD and BJP ministers trooped out led by deputy chief minister Sukhbir Badal and revenue minister Bikram Singh Majithia.

Soon, the treasury benches were near-empty with just nine members present against an equal number on the opposition benches. Midway through the speech, CM Parkash Singh Badal also went out. But this all did not stop Kalia from giving an impassioned speech. Much to the embarrassment of the ruling benches and amusement of the Congress, he delved into how the world was hailing Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government as a gamechanger for the country.

“The economic sentiments are high. The business confidence index is high. The IMF has said India will be the fastest growing economy in 2016. American secretary of state John Kerry has also said the government is investor-friendly,” he said.

Here, he was interrupted by some MLAs who asked him also to speak on Punjab and its budget. “I am coming to that. Punjab’s budget cannot be seen in isolation. It has to be seen in the context of the larger economic sentiments, where union finance minister Arun Jaitley has pegged the growth rate for the coming year at 8.5%,” Kalia added.

Even as the presiding officer kept reminding Kalia that his scheduled time was over, the latter concluded only after having shared a few nuggets of wisdom. “There should also be a Mukhya Mantri Rickshaw Chalak Yojana under which rickshaw-pullers can get loans. Also, to check drug abuse, the anti-allergic salt pseudoephedrine should be banned as there are other salts available which have anti-allergic properties. And the disbursal of pensions and grants-in-aid to colleges should be on time,” he added.

SAD chief parliamentary secretary NK Sharma, during his turn to speak, heaped praises on how the SAD-BJP regime had turned the dream of housing for all into reality. The realtor, whose own fortunes have changed drastically through the “housing for all” dream, also did not speak on the budget. He concluded his speech by hailing their party’s victory in the recent municipal elections, saying it was an endorsement of people’s faith in the government. After Lal Singh’s speech, it seemed both the opposition and ruling benches had lost interest in talking about the budget. The debate on stray cattle and dogs a day before had seen better participation and enthusiasm.