Jaipur, Feb 3 (PTI) Rajasthan Agriculture Minister Kirodi Lal Meena will not attend the ongoing Budget Session of the state Assembly due to ill health, Speaker Vasudev Devnani said on Monday.

Meena had sought permission to remain absent from the House due to health reasons. His request was approved on Monday, Devnani informed the House at the beginning of the Zero Hour.

"I have to inform the House that Assembly member Kirodi Lal has sought permission to remain absent from the meetings of the House due to ill health till the end of the session," he said.

Amid the uproar by members, the Speaker announced that the permission had been granted.

Meena had not attended the previous session of the House in July last year due to "unavoidable reasons".

Meena is known to have a discord with some members of the party. He had submitted his resignation after the BJP's losses in certain seats in last year's Lok Sabha polls but Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma did not accept it.

The party tried to placate him by fielding his brother Jagmohan Meena from the Dausa seat in the November 2024 Assembly bypoll, but he lost. Meena blamed some party leaders for the defeat.

Earlier, during the Question Hour, the opposition had targeted the ruling party over Meena's absence. There was also a heated exchange between the Congress and BJP members after opposition legislator Chetan Patel raised the issue of crop damage caused by excessive rain in Pipalda.

The Congress objected to the answer given by Minister of State for Rural Development Otaram Dewasi in Meena's absence.

The Budget Session of the Rajasthan Assembly began on Friday with the address of Governor Haribhau Bagde. Meena was present in the House. PTI AG RHL

Assembly attendance: minister permitted extended absence on health grounds, triggering opposition criticism and contentious exchanges during Budget Session. A state minister was granted permission to remain absent from the Assembly for the remainder of the Budget Session on health grounds, a decision announced by the Speaker at Zero Hour amid uproar. The absence, following a prior nonattendance and an unaccepted resignation, reflects intra-party discord. Opposition members used Question Hour to criticise the government for the minister's absence and challenged answers given in his stead, leading to heated exchanges over issues including crop damage and ministerial accountability.