Schedule of Budget Session of Bengal Assembly might be changed as CM Banerjee will participate in SC hearing on SIR again

Kolkata, Feb 5 (IANS) The schedule of the Budget Session in the Assembly might be changed to accommodate West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s scheduled visit to New Delhi on February 9 to participate in the crucial hearing on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in the state at a three-judge Bench of the Supreme Court on that day.

Initially, February 9 was supposed to be the last date of the Budget Session of the House. However, there had been a preliminary decision that February 7, which is a Saturday, might be the last day of the session.

Generally, Assembly sessions are not conducted on Saturday, except on rare occasions. “Since this is also a rare occasion, considering the importance of the Chief Minister participating in the hearing at the apex court. So this time, the last day of the Budget Session might be on February 7,” said a member of the Trinamool Congress’ legislative team in the House.

Incidentally, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was present in the top court on Wednesday and also argued the matter herself.

The West Bengal Minister of State for Finance (independent charge), Chandrima Bhattacharya will be presenting the interim (vote on accounts) budget on the floor of the House at 2.30 p.m. on Thursday.

During the ongoing Budget Session of the House, the Treasury Bench is supposed to move two special motions on the floor of the Assembly.

The first motion will be the one condemning the ongoing SIR in West Bengal. The second motion will be the one condemning the roles of central investigation agencies like the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the state.

The second motion is extremely significant in the backdrop of the recent controversies over the ED’s simultaneous raid and search operations at the Indian Political Action Committee's (I-PAC) Salt Lake office and the residence of I-PAC’s co-founder, Pratik Jain, at Loudon Street in central Kolkata.

While the simultaneous raid and search operations were being conducted at the two places, Mamata Banerjee, accompanied by top bureaucrats and police officials of the state, stormed into both places one after another and left, taking away several files and electronic documents from both places.

Currently, the matter is pending a hearing at the apex court.