Election Commission seeks Centre's response on Opposition protest over Budget timing

Chief Election Commissioner Nasim Zaidi has written to Cabinet Secretary P K Sinha who is likely to consult the Parliamentary Affairs Ministry before framing his response on the government's plans to advance the budget presentation to February 1, sources said.

The Commission had yesterday forwarded a letter of the opposition parties, including Congress, TMC, BSP and SP, asking the government to postpone the presentation of the budget to at least till March 8, when the last of the votes will be cast for the polls to UP, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Manipur and Goa.

The Cabinet Secretary has been asked to respond by January 10.

Sources said the government is on a firm wicket on the issue and as per rules and procedures, there is no infirmity in preponing the session which usually begins in the third week of February.

The Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs had recently recommended that the Budget session will commence on January 31 and the Union Budget will be presented on February 1 so that the new provisions come into force from April 1, the beginning of the new fiscal.

"When the opposition had objected in 2012 during the Assembly polls to these five states, Congress had accepted their stand and postponed presentation of the Union Budget from February 28 to March 16. We want that there should be no presentation of the Budget till the elections are over," Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha and Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad had said after meeting EC on January 5.

Azad said electoral laws make it clear that the ruling party should have no advantage during elections and both the opposition and the ruling side should be on an equal footing.

He said the Budget on February 1 will tilt the balance in favour of BJP as it would use the exercise to influence voters by doling out sops.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has defended the move asking why the opposition parties are afraid of it when they have claimed that demonetisation is an unpopular decision.

Sixteen parties had written to the President and EC opposing the decision to have an early Budget session beginning January 31.