Chennai: Picking up from where it was left, the Tamilnadu Assembly session which begins tomorrow is expected to be a stormy one with the Opposition numbers having gone up after the recent by-elections.
The budget for financial year 2019-2020 was tabled in the House 8 February 2019. Debate on the budget was held from 11 to 13 February. After that, the Assembly was adjourned sine die. As general elections and by-elections followed, budget proposals for various departments could not be taken up in the House. Now that the elections are done, budgetary demands for individual departments will be taken up and the budget allocation will be granted during the Assembly session.
This would be the first session of the Assembly after the recent Lok Sabha elections and Assembly by-polls. On the opening day, obituary references would be made in respect of two sitting members who passed away recently after which the House would be adjourned.
The Opposition MLAs and leaders are expected to raise various issues in the House. The session was expected to generate heat as the DMK has given notice for a no-confidence motion against Speaker P Dhanapal.
Apart from the no-confidence motion, the Opposition, whose strength has gone up to 109 after the recent by-polls, is expected to raise a host of issues, including the drinking water scarcity faced by the people in various parts of the State, protests by farmers against the hydrocarbon project, Centre’s alleged move to impose Hindi, Cauvery water issue in the wake of non-reopening of the sluice gates of Mettur dam on the scheduled date of 12 June due to poor storage level and the Salem-Chennai eight-lane green corridor project pending before the Supreme Court after the Madras High Court quashed its land acquisition process.
Speaker P Dhanapal conducted the Business Advisory Committee meeting recently to decide on the activities of the session. At the meeting, it was decided to hold the session till 31 July.
On 24 June, Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami chaired a cabinet meeting during which discussions were made about the ways to handle the issues on the water crisis and drought in the State that would be raised in the Assembly.
The meeting was attended by Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam and other Ministers during which funds needed for different departments that will be allocated during the budget session was also discussed.