J&K speaker convenes all-party meeting ahead of Budget Session on Feb 2

Jammu, Jan 27: An all-parties meeting will be convened ahead of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly's Budget Session, scheduled to begin next month, Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather said on Tuesday, urging legislators to make effective use of the proceedings by raising public issues for redressal.

The 27-day session will commence on February 2 with an address of Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha. The Omar Abdullah-led government will present its second budget on February 6. This fifth session of the Assembly will conclude on April 4.

"Preparations to ensure a smooth assembly session are underway. We have already held meetings with various departments. An all parties meeting will be convened before the session starts on February 2. The Business Advisory Committee meeting is also scheduled before the Lieutenant Governor’s address," Rather told PTI.

The session will be held in three phases, the first before the start of Ramzan and the remaining two after Eid-ul-Fitr in March and April. Ramzan is expected to begin on February 18 or 19, depending on the sighting of the moon.

According to the provisional calendar issued by the assembly secretariat, February will have 18 days of business. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who also holds the finance portfolio, will witness the present the budget for the 2026-27 financial year and the Supplementary Statement of Expenditure for 2025-26 on February 6. March and April will have five and four days of business, respectively.

The speaker said the discussion on the motion of thanks to the Lieutenant Governor’s address will start on February 3 and continue for three days. The Chief Minister is expected to reply to the debate on February 5. General discussion on the budget are slated for February 7, 9 and 10, followed by a reply from the chief minister.

As per the tentative calendar, seven days have been earmarked for the demand of grants between February 11 and 19, after which the Assembly will go into recess for one month and eight days. The session will resume on March 27 when the budget will be taken up for passing in the form of Appropriation bills.

As per calendar, March 28 and April 4 are reserved for government business. March 30 and April 1 are set aside for Private Member Bills, while March 31 and April 2 are for Private Member Resolutions.

Rather said that the provisional calendar will be placed before the Business Advisory Committee to be finalised. "My message to all legislators is to make proper use of the available time to raise public issues. People have high hopes and expect their concerns to be addressed. We should not waste the session on irrelevant matters; instead, we must remain focused on public issues and work sincerely towards finding solutions to their issues," the speaker added.