Accusing the state Government of exceeding the Constitutional limit on the size of the state Cabinet, the Opposition Congress in Rajasthan boycotted the customory speech of the Governor on the first day of the budget session on Monday. As Governor S K Singh rose to read out his speech, Congress MLAs, led by Leader of Opposition Hemaram Choudhary, raised slogans against the ruling party and demanded sacking of one minister and four parliamentary secretaries. Choudhary said that there are 29 ministers and six parliamentary secretaries, five in excess of the permissible limit in the 200-member House.

The Congress MLAs also created a ruckus over the issue of compensation for the farmers hit by the recent cold wave and frost. They were supported by CPI(M) MLAs, which lead to heated arguments between the treasury benches and the Opposition.

Following the chaos, Singh chose to read only certain parts of his speech. Listing out the major achievements of the Raje Government, Singh claimed that Rajasthan was no more a part of the BIMARU states. “The overall development has helped in creating a new identity for the state at the national level,” he said.