Budget presentation delayed as Opposition members stage protest
Angry:Opposition members arguing with Hubli-Dharwad Mayor Pandurang
Patil opposing the presentation of the budget in the HDMC council on
Tuesday.
The Hubli-Dharwad Municipal Corporation budget for
2013-14 was presented here on Tuesday after a nearly one-hour delay as
Opposition members staged protests, claiming that “the budget was
prepared in a hurry”.
As soon as the council meeting
began here on Tuesday, Congress members, led by Leader of the Opposition
Dasharath Wali and former Opposition leaders Deepak Chinchore and
Ganesh Tagargunti raised objections claiming there were technical issues
and flaws in the budget prepared by the Standing Committee on Tax
Fixation, Finance and Appeals.
The Opposition members took objection claiming that thebudget had been prepared in a hurry.
‘Intimated late’
They
said that though it was required to send the notice of the budget
meeting to HDMC councillors a week in advance, they had received it
late. This indicated that the budget was being presented in a hurry
owing to the confusion regarding the date of elections to the urban
local bodies.
They alleged that there were factual
errors in the budget. Even the names of the standing committee members
had not been mentioned in the printed copies of the budget estimates,
they said and added that it wasn’t even clear who was going to present
the budget.
Mr. Tagargunti and Mr. Chinchore said
that the usual practice was to present the budget in the last week of
February. The ruling party had broken tradition by trying to present an
“election budget” just for the sake of wooing voters, they alleged.
They urged Mayor Pandurang Patil to present the budget after following all procedures and rectifying errors.
The
Mayor, in turn, said there was no need to give such importance to
technical errors and that it could be rectified immediately. He appealed
to the Opposition members to allow the presentation of the budget.
However,
the Opposition members rushed to the well of the house and again urged
the Mayor to put off the budget presentation. When the Mayor stuck to
his stand, they resorted to a dharna and raised slogans against the
ruling party and the Mayor.
They continued to protest for nearly 40 minutes. Dr. Patil then adjourned the council meeting for 15 minutes.
When
the meeting resumed, the Opposition leaders did not press for their
earlier demand to be fulfilled. Subsequently, the Mayor asked Chairman
of the Standing Committee on Tax Fixation, Finance and Appeals Shivu
Hiremath to present the budget.
