The Budget session of Parliament has been prorogued to enable the Centre to issue an ordinance for authorising expenditure beyond 1st of April in Uttarakhand which is under President’s rule.
With only two days left, government would not have been in a position to issue an Ordinance for drawing funds from the Consolidated Fund to enable the state to meet its expenditure needs beyond of 1st April. The decision was taken at a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs chaired by Home Minister Rajnath Singh.
After the CCPA meeting, Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu met President Pranab Mukherejee to brief him about the decision taken in the CCPA as well as developments that took place in Uttarakhand.
Both the houses were adjourned on 16th of this month to meet on 25th of April in the second part of the session. Questions were being raised over the status of the Appropriation Bill which was declared as passed by the Speaker in the Uttarakhand Assembly under controversial circumstances.
Under Article 357 of the Constitution, the President can authorise, when the Lok Sabha is not in session, the expenditure from the Consolidated Fund of the State pending the sanction of such expenditure by Parliament. The CCPA meet also gave its nod for prorogation of Rajya Sabha to enable re-issuing the Ordinance bringing changes in the Enemy Property Act, 1968, which is pending in the Upper House after being passed by the Lok Sabha.
The Ordinance for amendments in the Act was promulgated on January 8 this year. The Bill to replace the Ordinance was passed by Lok Sabha on March 9.However, it could not get Rajya Sabha’s nod and the Bill was finally referred to a Select Committee.