Stormy start to UP Assembly Budget session as BSP, Congress MLAs disrupt Governor's speech

Lucknow: The Budget Session of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly witnessed a stormy start as BSP and Congress members protested and interrupted Governor's speech on Friday.

The budget session began with Governor Ram Naik's address to the joint session of both Houses, however, the opposition MLAs began shouting anti-government slogans and raised banners highlighting the law and order decline in the state among other issues.

Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav would present the budget for the year 2016-17, which would be his fourth.

This would also be the last budget of the present Samajwadi Party government as the state goes to polls early next year.

Officials said that for now the session had been planned for 43-days but would be sitting for a month as the tenure of the budget session included public holidays and Sundays.

Sources said that the chief minister was going to focus mainly on farmers and youth as the state government wanted to be seen as their protector in an election year.

While the budget session, like other sittings in the past, is likely to face turbulence on many issues as the opposition is likely to rake up issues of growing crimes, poor law and order, communal incidents in some parts of the state, non-payment of arrears to sugarcane farmers, governor Naik has called upon all sides to ensure smooth functioning of the house.

With IANS inputs