Himanchal vidhan sabha budget session: all party meeting before budget session

Shimla, March 9, 2025 — An all-party meeting was held here on Sunday at the Himachal Pradesh Assembly Secretariat to discuss the forthcoming budget session of the Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly, which will start on Monday, March 10. The meeting was presided by Assembly Speaker Kuldeep Pathania in the presence of several senior leaders including Leader of Opposition Jairam Thakur, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Harshwardhan Chouhan, Deputy Chief Whip Kewal Singh Pathania and BJP Chief Whip Sukhram Chaudhary.

One of the major resolutions of the meeting was the agreement of both the ruling and opposition parties to increase the time frame of the budget session. The official decision will come after meetings tomorrow, but the current proposal is to add another three-day session.

Assembly Speaker Kuldeep Pathania claimed that the meeting was held in a cordial atmosphere. He noted that ruling and opposition members alike had supported an extension of the session. “The issue will be discussed in the Business Advisory Committee and the final decision will be taken by the Assembly Secretariat tomorrow,” he said. Pathania also urged all members to to ensure that the proceedings are held peacefully and with efficiency.

Jairam Thakur, the Leader of Oppositional, raised concerns over the session resulting in a shorter period than the existing 20 days, and added that it had been reduced to 16 days. He said this made meaningful discussion impossible, especially since all three days had been assigned to the Governor’s address, and everyone was expected to speak. Thakur also flagged the budget presentation time, 2 pm on March 17, as an issue. The budget has traditionally been tabled at 11 am and Thakur sought the Speaker’s consideration in restoring the previous time.

The concerns of the ruling party and opposition were addressed by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Harshwardhan Chouhan, who said that a suggestion was made by the ruling and opposition parties to alter the schedule of the session. There can be a three-day holiday for the festival and the session after Holi on Saturday can be postponed. Chouhan said the government is ready to answer all issues raised by the opposition but is considering to give maximum opportunity to the MLAs to speak on topics of public interest.

The budget session will be imperative for the government and opposition to submit their take to concerns concerning the convenience of the people of Himachal Pradesh.