Terming Leader of Opposition Atishi’s accusation baseless and incorrect, regarding limited time allotted for budget discussions, Delhi Assembly Speaker Vijender Gupta on Wednesday said her claim that only one hour was set aside for the budget discussion was “incorrect.” 

Speaker Gupta said that the business advisory committee of the Assembly, which includes Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLAs, had decided that the budget discussion would take place over two days, on March 26 and 27.

In a letter to Speaker Vijender Gupta, Atishi expressed outrage over the Assembly’s ‘List of Business’ for the day, which allocates barely an hour for Budget discussions, a move she termed “deeply worrying” and an attempt to avoid scrutiny,  accused the ruling BJP of deliberately curtailing discussions on the Annual Budget 2025-26 and may be trying to hide crucial economic details.  Speaker Gupta, in his reply, said, “I have received a letter from Atishi in which she has stated that only one hour has been allocated for discussion on the budget. This is completely untrue.

In the meeting of the Business Advisory Committee, in which opposition members were also present, it was decided that discussions on the budget will take place on March 26 and 27.

Additionally, all members will be given equal speaking time in proportion to their party’s representation, ensuring that every member gets a fair opportunity to speak.”

He said that the rules followed in previous sessions will be adhered to this time as well. If the need arises, the session duration will also be extended.

It should be appreciated that discussions are taking place on every subject during the session. Therefore, the claim that only one hour has been allocated for the budget discussion is completely baseless and politically motivated.  Responding to Atishi’s letter, Gupta said her claim that only one hour was set aside for the budget discussion was “incorrect.”

In her letter, Atishi also pointed out that the government had failed to present the Economic Survey, a standard parliamentary practice - before tabling the budget, and wondered whether this was an attempt to withhold vital economic data from the public.

“It almost seems that the Government wants to avoid a detailed discussion on the Budget. Is this Budget based on fictitious revenue projections and economic trends? Is that why the economic survey was not presented?” she wrote in her letter.