Budget 2022: Debate on President's address begins today, Rahul Gandhi to speak first
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will be the first speaker on motion of thanks to the President's address in the Lok Sabha. Meanwhile, Congress has been allotted one hour out of 12 hours of opposition parties.
The proceeding of the Budget session will begin on Wednesday with a debate on the motion of thanks on President Ram Nath Kovinds's address. According to ANI, both the houses have allowed 12 hours for the debate. Prime minister Narendra Modi will reply to the debate in the Lok Sabha on February 7 and Rajya Sabha on February 8, ANI reported.
Harish Dwivedi of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will move the motion of thanks in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, while the party's Geeta alias Chandraprabha will be moving the same motion in the Rajya Sabha. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will be the first speaker on motion of thanks to the President's address in the Lok Sabha, as per ANI. Meanwhile, Congress has been allotted one hour out of 12 hours of opposition parties.
Shortly after the Budget presented by the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the Parliament on Tuesday, Rahul Gandhi took to Twitter to slam the government over the Budget and called it, 'Zero-Sum Budget'.
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Reacting to his tweet, the Finance Minister said the Congress leader should first 'understand' the Budget in the post-Budget press conference on Tuesday. Sitharaman said she is ready to take criticism but not statements made solely to post on Twitter, especially by someone who 'hasn't done his homework correctly.'
Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Pralhad Joshi informed Rajya Sabha's Business Advisory Committee (BAC) that the Finance Minister would reply to the debate on February 11. To allow her reply, the Private Members' Business that day has been called off. The Budget session will continue till April 8. Both the house after February 11 will go on month-long recess; the proceedings will resume on March 13.
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On Monday, President Ram Nath Kovind, on the first day of the Budget session, addressed the joint sitting of both the houses of the Parliament.
President Kovind, in his 50-minute speech, said that his government's policies had prioritised the poor and marginalised sections of society. He also cited the Covid response, record farm produce procurement, and improved internal security as 'collective achievements' of the country's billion-plus citizens.