JAMMU: The nearly month-long budget session of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly, which is likely to be stormy, will begin on Monday. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who is also the Finance Minister of J&K, would present the second budget of the National Conference government on February 6.
The 27-day session will begin on Monday with the address of Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, followed by a three-day discussion on the LG’s address. The budget would be presented by Abdullah on the fourth day.
This will be the second budget presented by Omar after assuming office following the National Conference’s victory in the Assembly elections held in September–October 2024.
The election was the first after the abrogation of Articles 370 and 35A and the bifurcation and downgrading of the erstwhile state into two Union Territories on August 5, 2019.
The budget session is expected to be stormy, with the BJP and other opposition parties all set to corner the government on several fronts, including the regularisation of daily wage workers and the alleged failure of the Omar government to fulfil its pre-poll promises of the creation of one lakh jobs annually, 200 units of free electricity, and the supply of 16 free LPG cylinders per household, etc.
The Kashmir-based opposition parties, including the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Peoples Conference and others, are also expected to raise concerns over the existing reservation policy. The BJP is likely to strongly push for the establishment of a National Law University in Jammu, opposing any move to set it up in Kashmir.
In order to corner BJP, the ruling National Conference, along with other political parties, is expected to raise the issue of the derecognition of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Institute of Medical Excellence (SMVDIME) following protests by Hindu groups over the admission of Muslim students.