Panaji, Mar 12 (PTI) Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant will table the state government's budget for 2025-26 on March 26, the last day of the upcoming budget session of the legislative assembly.

The date of the budget presentation was decided during a meeting of the state assembly's Business Advisory committee (BAC) held on Wednesday.

The meeting was held at the assembly complex in Porvorim even as opposition parties, including the Congress and the Goa Forward Party (GFP) expressed their dissatisfaction over the functioning of the BAC.

The BAC meeting chaired by Speaker Ramesh Tawadkar discussed the agenda for the upcoming assembly session to be held between March 24-26.

CM Sawant said he would table the state budget on March 26, but it will not be passed during this session.

"We will only pass a vote on account during the session," the chief minister said.

Leader of Opposition Yuri Alemao, who is also a member of the BAC, urged assembly speaker Tawadkar to maintain the democratic process by allowing opposition MLAs to raise the issues and give equal rights during the assembly session.

The Cuncolim MLA wrote to the speaker, stating that it was essential that Private Members' Business was not skipped, specially when the assembly session was summoned for just two or three days starting Monday.

"This would unfairly deprive elected representatives of their rightful opportunities. Instead, as per Rule 31, an alternative day of the week should be allocated for Private Members' Business if the session concludes before Friday. This adjustment ensures that the voices of all representatives are heard, upholding the principles of democracy and representation," Alemao said.

Referring the rejection of Public Undertaking Committee (PUC) report in the last assembly session, he said "I was appalled by the government's actions in the last assembly session as despite the PUC reports being adopted by the committee, listed on the session's agenda and presented with the speaker's permission, the government disregarded the speaker's authority and rejected them without any discussion or debate." "The fact that PUC members from the ruling party opposed the report in the House despite adopting it in the PUC meeting, sets a worrying precedent. This contradictory stance undermines the integrity of the process and raises concerns about the government's commitment to transparency and accountability," he said in the letter.

"If such traditions continue, it is likely that future reports will face similar opposition, allowing corruption, irregularities, and mismanagement to persist unchecked. This would not only harm the public interest but also erode trust in the government's ability to govern effectively," Alemao pointed out.

GFP MLA Vijai Sardesai, who abstained from attending the BAC meeting, also wrote to the speaker, saying he was against the manner in which BAC meetings were conducted.

The BAC meetings are reduced to a mere formality, he alleged, and claimed that the state government calls for a short assembly session and then convenes perfunctory BAC meeting only to procedural requirements. PTI RPS NP

Vote on account to be moved while full budget is tabled later, prompting objections over assembly procedure and PUC handling. The government will table the annual budget but seek only a vote on account during the short assembly session, deferring full budget passage; opposition members contend the Business Advisory Committee's scheduling and conduct curtail Private Members' Business and legislative scrutiny, and they criticise the rejection in the House of Public Undertaking Committee reports that were adopted in committee without allowing debate.