Budget session to be out of focus: TMC on assembly elections announcement

New Delhi: The Trinamool Congress on Saturday (January 8) in a rather unwelcoming reaction to the assembly election schedule announcement by the Election Commission said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s game plan to diminish the importance of the parliament succeeded as the Budget Session of will be “out of focus” in the light of elections.

"The Winter Session of Parliament was washed out by the BJP. With elections in full swing, the Budget session will be out of focus. This is Modi's gameplan: Make Parliament irrelevant so he is accountable to no one," said TMC Rajya Sabha MP and its national spokesperson Derek O' Brien.

The statements come after the Election Commission on Saturday announced the schedule for the Assembly Elections in five key states, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa, Punjab and Manipur in a press conference.

Assuring a COVID-safe election with necessary protocols in place, CEC Sushil Chandra announced that the elections will be held between February 10 and March 7 in seven phases with the counting of votes on March 10.

Notably, Parliament's Budget Session usually begins in the last week of January every year and the budget is presented on February 1, which follows a discussion.

The elections have huge political significance with BJP ruling four of these five states, while it is making a big push to capture Congress-ruled Punjab, where the Aam Aadmi Party is also emerging as an important player.

The Trinamool Congress has ventured into Goa a few months back and is looking to stitch up pre-poll alliances against the BJP in the coastal state.

(With PTI inputs)

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