ITANAGAR, March 9 � In a �rare� instance in the parliamentary democracy in the State, the members of BJP � the principal Opposition in Arunachal Pradesh Assembly � today staged a walkout in the House in protest against the State Government presenting a vote-on-account instead of a regular Budget.
The bone of contention was presentation of a Vote-on-Account for four months beginning April 1 by Chief Minister Nabam Tuki in the House instead of a regular Budget for the coming financial year 2015-16.
Leading the members of his party, Leader of Opposition Tamiyo Taga, while leaving Assembly announced that the BJP is boycotting the rest of the House session, alleging the government of being �busy in siphoning off public money�.
�This government has exhausted in carrying out developmental activities and lost its vision but is busy in siphoning off public money,� alleged Taga, while vociferously opposing the vote-on-account presented by Chief Minister Nabam Tuki on the opening day of the three-day Budget session on Thursday last, before demanding a probe into the matter.
He said a full-fledged Budget estimate could have been prepared, but citing its grounds to be the non-allocation of fund by the NITI Ayog was not prudent on the part of the State Government.
Senior BJP leader Japu Deru said a Vote-on-Account �cannot be presented whimsically�. It can be presented only in an election year or in case of any emergency like natural calamity, etc, stated another member Tesam Pongte.
Seeking to know the grounds for not introducing a regular Budget, BJP member from Aalo West Tumke Bagra said the vote-of-account was �not acceptable. Ziro-Hapoli member Tage Taki accused the government of misleading the people of the State on financial matters.
Rubbishing the BJP�s allegations, Chief Minister Nabam Tuki charged that the BJP members were �working under somebody�s direction� and they were �not behaving like elected representatives�.
He said that the sanctity of Assembly � a symbol of democracy � has been breached by the BJP members by the way they walked out of the House.
Defending his government�s stance on presentation of the Vote-on-Account, Tuki said a full-fledged budget cannot be presented without fund from the Centre and more so, the NITI Ayog has never called for any meeting to finalise the State�s annual plan size.
He further reasoned that since the Union Budget was yet to be passed by the Parliament, under such circumstances the State Government cannot prepare a regular budget. Later, the house passed the Vote on Account for 2015-16 by voice vote in the absence of the opposition members.
