SHILLONG:
The Business Advisory Committee (BAC) of the Meghalaya Assembly which met on March 13 decided to start the Budget Session on March 20 till March 28.
The Budget will be presented on March 23.
The seven-day session will have five-days of government business and two-days of private members’ business.
The BAC was attended by Speaker Thomas A. Sangma, Trinamool Congress (TMC) legislator Charles Pyngrope, Congress Legislature Party leader Ronnie V. Lyngdoh, and United Democratic Party (UDP) MLA Lahkmen Rymbui.
The election for the post of Deputy Speaker will be held on the first day of the session.
The Speaker said that the office of the Assembly will notify the election for the post of Deputy Speaker from Tuesday so that those intending to contest for the post can file their nomination.
When asked if the short duration of the Session will be enough to take up the issue of the members – Sangma said that if something important comes up he may extend the sitting of the House for the particular day.
He also reiterated that the office of the Speaker is still examining the issue of recognising the leader of opposition.
“This office has received applications from the Congress and the All India Trinamool Congress to recognise them as separate entities,” Sangma informed.
The Speaker also said that the Voice of the People Party (VPP) has not indicated whether it will stay in the opposition or the ruling.
A political party should get at least one-sixth of the seats in the House to qualify to be Leader of the Opposition.
In the case of Meghalaya, the Congress and TMC both have five MLAs each which individually adds up to one-twelfth of the total strength in the House. The Voice of the People Party (VPP) with four members has even less.