Govt gets Oppn support for passing Budget

UPA government is learnt to have secured the consent of the Opposition parties to pass the Budget without referring it to the Parliamentary Standing Committees. To this end,the Lok Sabha will apply guillotine to vote on the demands for grants of various ministries and departments on July 21. There will,however,be discussions on the demands for grants of four important ministries — Agriculture,Food & Civil Supplies,Human Resource Development,Home and Power.

According to ruling party sources,Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Parliamentary Affairs Minister P K Bansal had held discussions with Opposition leader L K Advani who agreed to pass the Budget without referring it to the Parliamentary Standing Committees,which are yet to be constituted.

The Vote-on-Account comes to an end on July 31,which makes it incumbent on the government to pass the Budget before that date. Bansal had also consulted CPM leader Basudeb Acharia who was “agreeable” to the government’s proposal,said sources.

The discussion on the Budget will commence after Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee’s reply to the debate on the Railway Budget on Thursday. The Prime Minister is likely to reply to the debate on the Budget on July 14.