Chief minister Hemant Soren has assured the people of Jharkhand that Wednesday's state budget would be one that will put the state on fast-paced growth and address concerns of every section of society.
Speaking to reporters at the Vidhan Sabha on Tuesday, Hemant said, “While the final contents will be known once our finance minister tables the budget in the Assembly tomorrow (Wednesday), but let me assure you that we have taken the ground realities of the state into account while framing it. The budget will be pro-people and will be aimed towards taking the state ahead. We have already dedicated this year to job creation.”
Finance minister Rameshwar Oraon said the focus would be on key drivers of the growth. “The state government’s focus will be on priority sectors such as health, food, clothing, education and jobs. Unlike the Union budget, which was for capitalists, we will come up with a people-friendly budget,” he assured.
In the Assembly, MLAs of the Opposition BJP resorted to disruptions on Tuesday, forcing Speaker Rabindra Nath Mahto to adjourn the House twice.
As the House began at 11am, BJP MLAs walked into the Well to demand a debate on the recruitment policy, accusing the state government of scrapping their initiative arbitrarily. On Monday, too, the issue dominated the BJP’s agenda .
Opposition MLAs descended on the Well of the House, raised "Jai Shri Ram" slogans, banged on benches and performed parikrama (going around n circles), forcing the Speaker to cut short Question Hhour and adjourn the proceedings till 12 noon.
Soon after the House resumed, BJP MLAs again resorted to protests over the recruitment policy leading to chaos during Zero Hour. BJP MLA from Hazaribagh Manish Jaiswal then sought answers from the chief minister over deaths due to kerosene blasts in his district. He demanded compensation for those killed (four) and injured (16) and sought action against the guilty.
Later, the chief minister told the House that compensation of Rs 4 lakh would be given to the kin of the deceased.
Amid the din, the Assembly was adjourned again till 2 pm. The ruckus continued later when Ranchi MLA C. P. Singh tore up a copy of the government order removing him as senate member of Shyama Prasad Mukherjee University in Ranchi, days after appointing him. All BJP MLAs later staged a walkout in protest.
Singh’s action prompted Congress’s MLA from Poriyahat Pradeep Yadav to move a motion to expel him for the rest of the session.
Criticizing the Opposition’s conduct, Hemant later told reporters, “The BJP calls itself a party with principles and morals. But their conduct in the House speaks otherwise. In a democracy, a healthy debate in the House is the need of the hour, not disruptions. I am sure the Speaker has taken note of their conduct for appropriate action.”
But the BJP's chief whip, Bokaro MLA Biranchi Narayan, said that the onus of conducting the House lay with the government. “We are raising issues that are important for the people of the state. It is for the government to decide if they wish to run the House by answering questions raised by us or continue to avoid them,” he said.
Economic survey projects state growth at 9.5% in 2021-22
The Economic Survey 2021-22 tabled by state finance minister Oraon on Tuesday projected a growth of 9.5 per cent in Jharkhand in 2021-22 fiscal and pegged per capita income at Rs 57,863. The GSDP is expected to contract by 6.9 per cent, it added. “The real GSDP is expected to grow at the rate of 9.5 per cent and nominal GSDP by 13.6 per cent in the next fiscal over the current fiscal year,” it said.
Supplementary budget
On Tuesday, the House passed the state government’s second supplementary budget of Rs 7323 crore with voice vote a day after it was tabled.
