Jammu, Mar 2 (PTI) As Jammu and Kashmir is preparing for the first budget session in seven years, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Sunday chaired a joint meeting of the alliance partners here and discussed various issues for the smooth functioning of the house.

The 40-day budget session, having a total of 22 sittings, is scheduled to start on March 3 with the address of Lt Governor.

This will be the first budget of the government after it assumed power in October last year. Abdullah, who is set to present the budget on March 7, had held the charge of home and General Administrative Department among others during his previous stint as the chief minister in the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir from 2009 to 2014.

The previous five budgets were presented and passed by the parliament in the absence of the legislative assembly in J&K, while the then governor Satya Pal Malik led the state administrative council to pass the budget for 2019-2020 following the fall of the PDP-BJP government in June 2018.

The joint meeting, attended by Congress legislative party leader G A Mir and CPI(M) MLA M Y Tarigami among others, took place shortly after Abdullah presided over a separate legislature party meeting of the National Conference at his official residence here.

The Congress legislature party also met separately at Residency Road party headquarters before Mir joined the meeting convened by Abdullah. National Conference president Farooq Abdullah also attended the joint meeting.

"The budget session is happening after a long time and the people have high hopes with this government. We all have a responsibility to live up to the people’s expectations so that they can get relief,” Tarigami told reporters after the meeting.

He said the legislators have an opportunity to raise public issues inside the House.

"The cabinet resolution on the restoration of statehood is before the centre government which has also made repeated promises to the people of J&K on the issue. They should fulfil their promise by restoring the statehood so that the people are not rendered hopeless,” he said.

National Conference Chief Whip Mubarak Gul said the party legislature party met under the chief minister for an hour, discussing the party strategy to counter the opposition charge in the assembly.

"It was followed by a meeting of alliance partners which was also attended by Farooq Abdullah. The concerns of the participants were heard and various issues were discussed in detail to ensure a peaceful session,” he said, adding the meeting took place in a cordial atmosphere.

Congress Legislature party leader G A Mir said people’s aspirations are linked with the budget session as earlier bureaucrats used to prepare the budget and the parliament was discussing it.

"After seven years, the budget is being presented by an elected government and it will reflect the people’s aspirations...the people’s voice will echo the house for six weeks,” he said, assuring the people that the government will fulfil all its promises in the next five years.

Earlier talking to reporters at the Congress headquarters, Mir said it is a tradition for both the ruling and the opposition parties to convene their legislature party meetings before the start of the assembly session to discuss the issues needed to be raised in the house.

"Only four-and-a-half months have passed since the formation of the (NC-led) government but many people are questioning the government that it has not done this or that. They should remember that when the government was formed (on October 16), the budget had already been decided and it was also a big hurdle in the way," he said.

Mir hoped that the budget being presented by the government will address the popular public issues and will also lay the foundation for the implementation of the manifesto during the financial year 2025-26.

He said the government has already passed a resolution in the last session held in Srinagar and so the delay in restoring statehood is from the BJP-led central government which has made repeated promises to the people of J&K on the subject.

"When the prime minister chaired the All Party Meeting of J&K leaders (in June 2021), we were all witness to his statement that reorganization will be followed by delimitation, elections and then restoration of statehood. The centre should have fulfilled its promise after the formation of the popular government in J&K," he said.

Mir said the Congress has been repeatedly saying that restoration of statehood was the biggest issue during last year’s assembly elections and “INDIA alliance is committed to it. Cong being the largest party in the INDIA bloc has already made it clear in their working committee meeting and during the election campaigns.” Asked about PDP planning to introduce bills to push for the prohibition of alcohol and seek regularization of property rights of residents on public land, he said it is up to the house to decide on such bills.

"It is also a matter of thought that when they were in power with BJP why they did not introduce such bills? The government is more concerned about the issues raised in the election manifesto for which the people voted for it," he said. PTI TAS HIG

Restoration of statehood remains pending before central government as budget session provides forum to press legislative and public demands. A joint meeting chaired by the Chief Minister prepared alliance partners for the first elected government's budget session, emphasising the assembly as the forum to present the government's budget reflecting manifesto priorities and to raise public issues previously managed administratively. Delegates stressed the pending cabinet resolution on restoration of statehood before the central government and called for fulfilment of earlier assurances linking reorganisation, delimitation, elections and restoration. The meeting also considered prospective bills on prohibition and land regularisation, leaving adoption to assembly procedures.