NEW DELHI: The Delhi Assembly Budget session for 2021-22 scheduled to commence from Monday, will not have its usual Question Hour due to the Covid-19 pandemic, sources told IANS.
The Budget session of the 7th Legislative Assembly of the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi will begin with Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal's address at 11 a.m. on March 8.
The session will end on March 16.
Senior BJP MLA Ramvir Singh Bidhuri, who is also the Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Assembly, has slammed the AAP government for not including Question Hour in the session.
Terming it as an assault on democracy, Bidhuri said, "Question Hour is an important component of business of the Delhi Assembly proceedings and by doing away with this crucial instrument, the government is clearly running away from its responsibility of answering to the issues raised during this time concerning the people of the national capital."
The Badarpur BJP MLA added that as per the norms, MLAs are informed about convening the Assembly session 15 days in advance so that they can raise important issues concerning the people.
However, the AAP government has informed the legislators about the session only four days in advance on March 4, Bidhuri alleged.
He asserted that MLAs need time to prepare for raising issues during the session and such a short notice was given by the government only to escape from answering for their misdeeds and misrule.
"This is a clear violation of the rights of the elected representatives and they have been denied the right to ask questions of the government, " he added.
The Budget this year will likely focus on health, education and infrastructure including water supply, sources added.
The AAP is also likely to highlight its new excise policy during the session along with many other policies proposed by the party's national convenor Arvind Kejriwal.
Last year, the Delhi government had presented a Rs 65, 000 crore Budget for 2020-2021 that was around 10 per cent more than that in 2019-20.