NEW DELHI: Lieutenant governor VK Saxena on Saturday asked chief minister Arvind Kejriwal to present the annual budget before the Assembly as it was stalled by Delhi govt for no apparent reason despite the approval of the Centre almost a week ago.In a letter to the chief minister, the lieutenant governor said the annual financial statement was cleared by Govt of India on Feb 19, but it was yet to reach for laying in the Assembly as per the established law.He added that for the benefit of the people of Delhi, it was important that the 2024-25 budget “be laid, discussed and passed” in the House at the earliest.”It will not only give an opportunity to the people to know about the expenses and revenue of govt but also apprise them of the programmes that public funds – that belong to the people themselves – are being utilised for what purpose,” the LG wrote.Delhi govt said the budget was received by finance minister Atishi after the presidential nod around Feb 20 and was now on its way to the LG’s office for his approval for tabling it before the Assembly. “The budget is a financial document of utmost importance for the entire FY 2024-25. So, due diligence at micro level is required and this takes time,” the statement read.The budget session had started with the LG’s address to the House on Feb 15. Though Delhi govt had not announced the date, the budget was expected to be tabled on Feb 19. The finance minister, however, announced after the LG’s address that the preparation of the annual financial statement had been delayed and it couldn’t be tabled before Feb 25.Saxena said in his letter that the decision to call the budget session between Feb 15 and 21 was taken by the Delhi cabinet on Jan 31 and the orders of summoning were issued by him on Feb 6. He added that the budget was received by his secretariat on Feb 13 and it was sent to Union Ministry of Home Affairs for its clearance and approval of the President on Feb 15. The Centre had conveyed its approval on Feb 19, within three working days.”You are accordingly requested to get the process expedited and utilise the budget session for what it was summoned for,” the LG said. Delhi BJP functionaries Ramvir Singh Bidhuri and Virendra Sachdeva in a joint statement said it was for the first time in the democratic history of India that a budget session had been convened, but the annual financial statement was not presented. “It is clear that chief minister Arvind Kejriwal does not want to appear before the Enforcement Directorate for investigation of the liquor ‘scam’ and the ongoing budget session is just an excuse. When the budget was approved by the President on Feb 19, why has it not been presented so far? It clearly indicates govt is deliberately delaying the budget,” they said.
