I/II. http://www.ndtv.com/india-news/union-budget-2017-trinamool-congress-not-to-attend-parliament-on-budget-day-1654144
Union Budget 2017: Trinamool Congress Not To Attend Parliament On Budget Day All India | Edited by Raija Susan Panicker | Updated: January 30, 2017 17:24 IST NEW DELHI: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress will not be present in parliament when the Union Budget is presented on Wednesday, February 1. Party lawmaker Derek O Brien, writing exclusively for ndtv.com, said Saraswati Puja, an important Bengali festival, is on the same day and so his colleagues and he will be unable to attend parliament. Mr O Brien, writing exclusively for ndtv.com, also said that the Trinamool would skip a meeting of all parties called by Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan this evening. In an official statement the Trinamool Congress said its MPs "will not be present in parliament on the first two days of the Budget Session in protest against demonetisation, which was implemented without taking parliament into confidence, and restrictions on withdrawal limits from bank accounts which are still in force." The party said it would bring up during the session, the arrest of two party MPs by the CBI in a chitfund scam. Mamata Banerjee's party has called it a "clear case of political vendetta by the ruling party at the centre by misusing CBI and abusing its power," for its aggressive campaign against Prime Minister Narendra Modi's notes ban. The Budget session of parliament begins tomorrow. Opposition parties have accused the government of advancing the presentation of the Budget by several weeks because it wants to be able to announce sops just ahead of crucial assembly elections in five states. Punjab and Goa will vote on February 4, three days after the Budget, and the first phase of the Uttar Pradesh elections will be held on February 11. "The BJP government has done this, we suspect, to influence voters in Punjab, Uttarakhand, Goa, Manipur and Uttar Pradesh...Our requests and objections relating to the date of the budget being unfair and undemocratic were not heeded by a government that has no time for niceties. Neither was our urge to be culturally sensitive on the occasion of Saraswati Puja, which also falls on February 1, considered," Derek O Brien wrote. Saraswati Puja, he said, "is more than just a religious event in Bengal. It is a tribute to learning and education, a cause that is so dear to this state and its people...To have the Budget presentation coincide with Saraswati Puja is to disregard Bengal." The Trinamool, Mr O Brien said would also skip the Speaker's all party meeting this evening and the first day of the Budget session tomorrow as party chief Mamata Banerjee has called a meeting to "do an internal stock-taking of the national economic and political situation." The Trinamool Congress, which has 34 lawmakers in the Lok Sabha or lower house of parliament and 11 in the upper house Rajya Sabha, has alleged that it is being persecuted by the central government for its aggressive campaign against Prime Minister Narendra Modi's demonetistion drive, after two of its MPs, Sudip Bandyopadhyay and Tapas Pal, were arrested by the CBI in connection with a chitfund scam. Ms Banerjee's party led protests both inside and outside parliament during the winter session in December against the ban on 500 and 1,000 rupee notes aimed at uprooting corruption and black money. The session was washed out amid daily disruptions by the Trinamool Congress and other opposition parties. II. http://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/youth-cong-stages-protest-against-budget-presentation-on-feb-1-117010601078_1.html Youth Cong stages protest against Budget presentation on Feb 1 Press Trust of India | New Delhi January 6, 2017 Last Updated at 20:07 IST Youth Congress activists today tried to stage a march towards Election Commission's office in central Delhi to protest the government's decision to present the Union Budget on February 1, three days ahead of voting in Punjab and Goa. They began their march from their party office but were detained by police before they could reach the EC's office. The activists charged that the government move to present the budget just days ahead of voting in five states was aimed at benefiting the ruling BJP in the states going to polls. "It's a misuse of power by Narendra Modi government to influence the upcoming assembly elections by presenting the Union Budget before its scheduled date," Delhi Youth Congress chief Amit Malik alleged. "Democracy in India will remain only for namesake if decisions continue to be take for political interests and not for the people," Malik said. Presenting the budget ahead of its scheduled date will "hamper" fair electioneering in the five states - Punjab, Goa, Manipur Uttar Pradesh, and Uttarakhand, he added. The BJP-led Union government has advanced the date for presenting the budget, saying it will help in formulating policies and streamline the disbursement of funds to agencies. BJP has suggested that no announcements specific to five poll-bound states will be made in the Union budget. Polling begins in Punjab and Goa on February 4, and ends on March 8 when polling will be held in Uttarakhand. Results will come out on March 11. 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