RAJ KUMAR
Ranchi, Dec.21. The Jharkhand assembly approved the government’s second supplementary budget of Rs 8533.79 crore by voice vote amidst walk-out by the BJP MLAs.
Before the budget was approved, finance minister Rameshwar Oraon said how it is going to benefit the state people. He during his speech in support of the budget said for the first time the government has spent 49% of its main budget till December and this supplementary budget was required to ensure proper supply of power, giving enhanced scholarship to SC, SC, BC and minority students pursuing their matriculation and intermediate education, anganwadi workers, 100 unit free power to poor besides others.
Earlier, during a debate on the budget, the ruling and opposition parties exposed each other while supporting and opposing the budget.
BJP legislator Bhanu Pratap Shahi speaking against the budget said the 1932 Khatiyan-based local policy is the outcome of notices sent to chief minister Hemant Soren by the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) and the Election Commission of India (ECI). He said that it has become a strategy of the government to declare those outsiders who talk in the interest of law and Jharkhand.
JMM legislator Sudivya Kumar Sonu speaking in favour of the budget named some petitioners challenging the local policy and shared their UP and Bihar address. He termed main petitioner Ramesh Hansda a BJP leader. He termed the BJP as sadist saying while 7 lakh youth are crying after the high court scrapped the recruitment policy, the BJP is in a festive mood. He termed the BJP’s full form in Jharkhand as Bahri Janta Party unlike Bharatiya Janata Party in other parts of the country. He said during the BJP rule, poor weight was given to regional and tribal languages.
BJP legislator CP Singh opposing the budget attacked the government for corruption in the public distribution system saying foodgrains are not reaching the targeted group for the last four months. On law and order situation, he said since 2020 as many as 4800 cases of rape were reported. Exposing the poor policing he said when murder was committed near the residence of JMM supremo Shibu Soren in Morabadi police instead of nabbing the criminal deprived poor vendors of their sources of livelihood by asking them not to put their stalls in the locality.
Singh pointed to corruption in Jharkhand Police Housing Corporation saying its managing director Ajay Kumar Singh appointed a retired executive engineer as chief engineer and appointed a assistant engineer on the radar of ACB Ravi Choudhary as executive engineer and allowing those to work who have been blacklisted in other departments. He also mentioned corruption in the mining department.
Congress party MLA Shilpi Neha Tirkey supporting the budget exposed corruption in allotment of funds under tribal sub-plan saying Jharkhand is not getting its due and fund allotted for the development of tribal is being used for their destruction.
Congress MLA Pradeep Yadav while supporting the budget attacked the union government for not providing due GST share to Jharkhand and using central agencies like ED, IT and CBI to destabilize the elected government.
Independent legislator Amit Yadav opposing the budget cornered the state government for recruitment policy. He said every section of the society is feeling cheated by the state government.
