Gandhinagar, Feb 11 (IANS) Preparations have gathered pace at the Gujarat Secretariat ahead of the state Assembly’s Budget Session, which will commence on February 16 with the Governor’s address.
The first day of the session will begin with Governor Acharya Devvrat’s speech, followed by obituary references in the House. The state Budget is scheduled to be presented on February 17.
Officials said key legislative business and financial proposals will be taken up during the session.
In the run-up to the proceedings, a meeting of the Business Advisory Committee will be held on Thursday at the Assembly under the chairmanship of Speaker Shankar Chaudhary.
The committee will include the Chief Minister, Deputy Chief Minister, Finance Minister, Parliamentary Affairs Minister, the government’s chief whip and the Leader of the Opposition, along with other members, including Congress Legislature Party leader Dr Tushar Chaudhary.
The panel will deliberate on the session’s agenda, including the Bills to be introduced and the allocation of time for discussions.
As part of efforts to streamline legislative functioning, all state ministers have undergone special training at the Assembly’s e-NeVA (National e-Vidhan Application) centre.
The training session held on Tuesday and focused on familiarising ministers with the digital ‘Vidhan’ application used for Assembly business.
Ministers were guided on how to access agenda items, notices and Bills through the platform, and were briefed on responding to questions and participating in debates in accordance with Assembly rules.
Speaker Shankar Chaudhary attended the session and reviewed the preparations related to the digital conduct of proceedings.
Separately, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party is said to have called the meeting of its MLAs on February 16 at the Assembly complex.
Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and state BJP president Jagdish Vishwakarma are expected to be present.
During the meeting, legislators will be briefed on the government’s position on key issues, proposed legislation and the main provisions of the Budget, along with instructions regarding coordination and conduct in the House.
The opposition is also expected to raise various issues during the session.
–IANS
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