Delhi budget session from March 17

Delhi Assembly’s budget session will be convened from March 17 and the budget will be presented on March 21, officials said on Sunday.

This will be the first time since AAP came to power in Delhi in 2015 that the budget will not be presented by senior party leader and former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, who held the finance portfolio.

The budget, this year, will be presented by Revenue Minister Kailash Gahlot, who has been handed over the reins of the finance department following Sisodia’s arrest in the excise policy case on February 26 and his resignation from the cabinet.

After getting the finance portfolio, Gahlot has held several meetings with the ministry officials. Even before Sisodia’s arrest, Gahlot was part of the budget-related meetings.

“The budget session of the Delhi Assembly will commence on March 17 and the budget will be presented on March 21,” said an official.

The session will begin with Lt Governor VK Saxena’s address.

The 2022-23 budget was presented on March 26 last year by Sisodia. Called the Rozgar Budget, it was a Rs 75,800-crore budget with a five-year plan to create 20 lakh jobs through initiatives like a new electronic city and promotion of night economy to boost business and trade activities.

On Saturday, a Delhi court extended by two days the CBI custody of Sisodia to allow the investigation agency to confront him with material witnesses.

Sisodia’s former cabinet colleague, Satyendar Jain, who is in jail in connection with a money laundering case, has also resigned from cabinet.

(With PTI inputs)