The crucial Budget Session of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly slated to commence from tomorrow (on Friday) is expected to be stormy.  The Yogi Adityanath Government is expected table its third budget of its second term on February 5.

The opening day on Monday is likely to be particularly noisy with the Opposition trying to disturb Governor Anandiben Patel’s address to a joint session of the legislature. The governor is scheduled to deliver her address at 11 am.

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The Pran-Pratishtha of Ram Lalla in Ayodhya temple would be the highlight of the session, with the ruling NDA faction to compliment the Modi-Yogi duo for the achievement.

The customary all-party meeting was held on Thursday, which was chaired by Assembly Speaker Satish Mahana, in the presence of Chief Minister Adityanath and other party leaders. Before the meeting, the chief minister inaugurated the renovation work of Rajarshi Purushottam Das Tandon Hall at the Vidhan Bhavan.

The event unfolded as Yogi immersed himself in the spiritual and cultural legacy of UP, vividly portrayed through state-of-the-art LED displays. The compelling narrative included highlights such as the newly-constructed Shri Ram Temple, Kashi Vishwanath Dham, Lok Bhavan, Vidhan Bhavan, and the grandeur of events like Deepotsav on LED.

The Budget Session will see an aggressive Opposition trying to corner the BJP government on the issue of development and growth. Sources within the Samajwadi Party (SP) say Leader of Opposition in the assembly Akhilesh Yadav will himself lead the charge.

The SP, which held its legislature party meeting on Thursday, has geared up to corner the state BJP government accusing it of failure on various fronts including law and order, employment and farmers’ welfare. Besides, the SP will press its demand for caste census during this session.

The sources say the SP intends to further fan the debate around the sensitive question of caste census.

The ruling BJP, meanwhile, is keen to keep the focus on the ‘Vikas’ (development) narrative that has been set in motion through the recently held Pran-Pratishtha of Ram Lalla in Ayodhya. It also held a meeting of its legislators today, where Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath gave a pep talk to the members on what would be their role inside the house.

The state budget to be tabled by Finance Minister Suresh Khanna on February 5 will have the reflection of optimism created through the recent summit and the budget amount would be around Rs 7.50 lakh crore.

Sources say the size of the budget is likely to grow by around Rs 50,000 crore as compared to the one for the previous financial year of 2023-2024, when it was around Rs 6.90 lakh crore. Ahead of the general elections, the budget is likely to focus on creation of jobs for the youth, empowering women and farmers and further upgrading the state’s healthcare infrastructure.

    The last budget of the government with Akhilesh Yadav as the chief minister in 2016 was roughly around Rs 2 lakh crore. The government claims that better financial discipline over the years and focus on infrastructure and industry development has brought the change which can propel the state to be an one trillion dollar economy by 2027.

SP’s chief whip in the assembly Manoj Kumar Pandey said, “We cannot disclose our floor strategy for the Vidhan Sabha but there is no denying the fact that big numbers and fancy claims by the BJP government are nothing more than a bundle of lies. As a responsible Opposition, we will expose the government on all platforms, both within the Vidhan Sabha and outside.”

State Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak said: “The Opposition is already exposed in the people’s court. The Yogi Adityanath-led BJP Government has brought a remarkable change in the state.”