Finally, the 18-day-long Budget session of the Maharashtra State Assembly got over after passing a budget with a fiscal deficit of Rs 95,000 crore. Although the state government believes that many questions related to common man were put up and debated, the opposition has a contrary view. They feel the government failed to address the issues related to common people and made empty promises. However, the weak opposition lost this opportunity to corner the government on various fronts.
Despite presenting a budget with a fiscal deficit and slow economic growth compared to the national economic growth, opposition parties and leaders didn’t attack the government much.
Neither did Ajit Pawar, former finance minister and Opposition leader in the Assembly, nor did the Opposition leader in the council Ambadas Danve ask an uncomfortable question in either houses to put the government on the back foot.
CIVIC ELECTIONS
The local body elections, including for Mumbai, are pending for a year, with an administrator handling the civic body. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has got a budget of Rs 52,000 crore, which is equivalent to any small state of India. Infrastructure projects, including Metro rail, coastal road, Shivari-Nhava Sheva trans-harbour link, and wastewater management treatment plant, are underway in Mumbai City and the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR).
From the extended deadlines to the increased budget of these infrastructure projects, the opposition could have questioned the state, but they remained silent.
RAIN, HAILSTORM
While the Budget session was on, untimely rain and hailstorm occurred in various parts of the state, damaging crops and over 39,000 hectares of land. The opposition protested in bits and pieces, but couldn’t get any firm assurance from Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, apart from one statement that he was “firmly behind the farmers of the state”. Moreover, the government said once government employees on strike are back in office, they will conduct panchnamas of the damages caused by untimely rain and hailstorm.
The question is – why did the opposition accept such statements?
ERRORS BY MINISTERS
There are just 20 ministers in the cabinet, including CM Shinde and deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis. In many instances, it was observed in this budget session that many ministers remained absent when questions were asked about their departments.
In a few instances, ministers failed to give satisfactory answers to the questions asked. There were a few instances when there were errors in the answers of ministers.
Although Pawar expressed his anger on carelessness of ministers, for which Fadnavis, too, apologised, the opposition failed to capitalise on it. The recent by-poll results also couldn’t excite the opposition parties in the budget session.
Overall, despite everything being in favour of the opposition, it turned out to be a ‘cakewalk’ for the government.
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