Budget session to start from Jan 31

Notwithstanding the vociferous protests by the opposition parties, government has decided to stick to advancing of the budget session and convene it from January 31, a day before the Union Budget is likely to be presented.

President Pranab Mukherjee on Saturday summoned the Rajya Sabha to meet on January 31, an official notification said. A similar notification is also expected from the Lok Sabha secretariat.

The decision comes even as the election commission have sought government's reply on opposition parties memorandum demanding not to advance presentation of the budget just three days before the first phase of polls as it would give undue advantage to the ruling BJP to woo voters through sops.

The Election Commission has asked the Cabinet Secretary PK Sinha to give the government's response. The opposition wanted the budget session to be held at least in March as has been the usual practice.

While the session will begin with the President's address to the joint sitting of the two Houses, the same day the pre-budget economic survey will be tabled.

As the government has already announced scrapping the separate railway budget presentation, the railway estimates will be part of the union budget.

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 the next day so that the new financial provisions come into force from April 1, the beginning of the new fiscal.