Budget session to start with Governor's speech on Feb 7

Kolkata: The Budget session of the state Assembly will commence on February 7, with an address by Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar.

An order issued by the Governor on Monday read: "In exercise of the power conferred on me under Clause (1) of Article 174 of the Constitution of India, I Jagdeep Dhankhar, hereby summon the House to meet on Friday, the 7th of February, 2020 at 2pm in the Legislative Chamber."

Partha Chatterjee, state Parliamentary Affairs minister and Amit Mitra, state Finance minister met the Governor at Raj Bhavan on Monday evening. Chatterjee had earlier met the Governor on Sunday and a discussion took place between the two.

However, after the meeting neither the Governor nor the two ministers said anything on the discussion. Earlier, the ministers went through the speech which the Governor will deliver on the floor of the House at the commencement of the Budget session on Friday in the cabinet meeting and approved it. Mitra will place the state Budget before the House on February 10.

Political experts said that there had been an apprehension whether the Governor would read out the speech prepared by the state government at the commencement of the Budget session, in view of the differences that have cropped up between him and the state government.

They said the Governor might raise objection to the state government's claim over the law and order situation and refuse to read the speech line-by-line. However, it seems that the differences between the Governor and the state government have been ironed out.

The cabinet also approved the proposal to recruit the teachers in the home districts.