Govt presents Union Budget amidst Opposition demands for deferment

Congress and some other opposition parties on Wednesday wanted deferment of presentation of the Budget for 2017-18 in the Lok Sabha as a mark of respect to member E Ahamed who passed away this morning but Speaker Sumitra Mahajan ruled otherwise, saying it is a Constitutional obligation which must be fulfilled.

She said the House will not sit on Thursday as a mark of respect to the deceased member.

As soon as the House met for the day, the Speaker informed members about the demise of Ahamed and paid homage to the president of Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) who had also served as a minister in the previous UPA government.

Also Read: Budget 2017 Highlights | 'Total expenditure of budget 2017-18 has been placed at Rs 21.47 lakh crore'

The House then observed silence for a minute in memory of the member who collapsed in Parliament on Tuesday during the President’s address to the joint sitting of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.

Soon after, Leader of Congress Mallikarjun Kharge said the House should be adjourned for the day as a mark of respect to Ahamed as per the tradition.

He was joined by members of some other parties like Left and RJD in making the demand.

Responding to the demand, the Speaker said, “I would have adjourned (the House) today. But the date for presentation of the Budget has been fixed by the President and hence it is a constitutional obligation. In an extraordinary situation, the House may go ahead with the Budget presentation and the House may not sit tomorrow.”

Kharge continued to insist on the demand for some time, arguing that Ahamed had been declared dead on Tuesday but it was kept a secret.

To this, the Speaker said, “It is doctor’s decision. I have given the ruling.” Subsequently, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley presented the Budget for 2017-18.