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UP CM Akhilesh Yadav writes to PM Modi requesting defer the Union budget

by IBNS 27 Jan 2017, 10:00 am

Lucknow, Jan 27 (IBNS) : Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Friday sent a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi requesting that the Union budget be presented after the assembly elections in the state, to be held between February 15 and March 8, reports said.

The Union budget is to be presented on February instead of the last day of February, which was held as a tradition for long.

In his letter, Akhilesh Singh said that if the budget is  presented before the elections, UP  will be deprived of schemes which could help the most populous state of India.

On Monday, the Supreme Court had rejected a petition seeking postponement of Union budget date due to upcoming elections in five states.

The Election Commission had earlier ordered that the budget cannot include any announcements that could influence voters in the five states.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has said that the budget cannot be delayed on account of state elections.

However, Akhilesh Singh said in his letter that it would be "unfair" for the states contesting Assembly elections if the budget is presented before polls.

He said  the EC directive restricts the Centre from announcing certain schemes which, in  turn, will impact the welfare of the Uttar Pradesh and and affect all the 20 crore people of the state.

Hence, it would be wise to present the budget after the elections, he said.

Akhilesh Yadav's party has allied with the Congress against Narendra Modi's  Bharatiya Janata Party and Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party in the state elections.