Parties reach consensus on passing Budget by April 23

The federal Budget is expected to be passed with the support of all parties at a three-day sitting of Parliament from April 21 to 23.

However, this is subject to President Shankar Dayal Sharma convening a special session of the two houses of Parliament following the sine die adjournment of the Lok Sabha after the debate on the vote of confidence against the Deve Gowda government on Friday, April 11.

The consensus emerged at a meeting called by Lok Sabha Speaker Purno A Sangma during the lunch break.

It was generally agreed at the meeting, at which Finance Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram and representatives of all parties were present, that it was Parliament's duty to ensure that the country did not face a financial crisis.

The Finance Bill and the Budget have to be passed by May 14. If this is not possible, business can be carried out on a vote-on-account arrangement only up to the end of May.

The Speaker, who had met the President in this connection on Thursday, is understood to have told the members present that the Finance Bill is now the property of Parliament and therefore it is his concern to see that a decision is taken on the matter.

It is understood that the consensus at the meeting was that the parliamentary committees should discuss the Budget documents over the next few days and finalise their assessments.

Some members felt all MPs should rise above party considerations on this issue and ensure that the nation does not face an economic crisis.

However, most members present in the Speaker's chambers were not in favour of passing the Budget and the Finance Bill without a debate and insisted on a discussion.

Among those present at the meeting were Somnath Chatterjee of the Communist Party of India-Marxist, Chitta Basu of the Forward Bloc, Jaswant Singh of the Bharatiya Janata Party, George Fernandes of the Samata Party, Qamrul Islam of the Janata Dal, Sharad Pawar of the Congress, Geeta Mukherjee of the Communist Party of India, N S V Chittan of the Tamil Maanila Congress and federal minister U Venkateshwarlu of the Telugu Desam Party.

After Friday's debate on the confidence motion, the Lok Sabha will adjourn sine die. It would therefore be necessary for the President to summon a sitting of the House if the Budget has to be passed.

Sangma is understood to have told members of a precedent when such a situation had arisen. When Chandra Shekhar had tendered his resignation as prime minister in March 1991 after the Congress withdrawing its support, then speaker Rabi Ray had met then President Ramaswamy Venkataraman to apprise him of the situation created vis-a-vis the Budget.

Venkataraman had advised the Speaker to call the leaders of all the parties, and a meeting of the parties with the Speaker had then decided to pass the Budget to save the country from facing a possible financial crisis.

Finance Minister Chidambaram told reporters that as Parliamentarians, it was possible for MPs to get together and pass the Budget irrespective of the difficulties faced by the Executive. Parliament, he stressed, has to discharge its responsibilities in this connection.

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