All eyes on the Chief Minister! Omar Abdullah’s maiden budget to decide the future road map of his government in the J&K UT

All eyes on the Chief Minister! Omar Abdullah’s maiden budget to decide the future road map of his government in the J&K UT

POONCH TODAY NEWS

JAMMU: Amid the ongoing political uncertainty in J&K related to the business rules, which indicate a division of powers between LG and the Omar Abdullah-led government in addition to the closeness of NC and BJP, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah is all set to present his maiden budget in the assembly on the 7th of March 2025, and it will be placed before the legislative assembly on the 25th of March for approval.

Jammu, Feb 06 (ANI): Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah holds a meeting with Members of the Legislative Assembly and District Development Council Chairpersons ahead of Budget Session, in Jammu on Thursday. (ANI Photo)

This maiden budget of the Omar Abdullah-led government assumes much importance because the Chief Minister was keen to address the aspirations of every section of the society in the budget. Addressing the genuine concerns of both the divisions by touching every field would be a challenging task for Omar Abdullah. The young Chief Minister who was seen holding meetings with different stakeholders  and elected representatives, was keen to present a budget that would define the roadmap of his government for the future.  The approach adopted by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah much ahead of the budget by holding a series of meetings has shown that his vision was clear, as the young Chief Minister wanted to steer J&K on the path of development. The people of J&K are all set to witness a first budget in nearly seven years that would be presented by an elected regime, so all eyes are on the Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who is facing a massive challenge to come up to the expectations of the people of J&K. This budget session will last for 40 days with twenty-two sittings. Out of 40 days, there will be 12 days of break and six holidays. It is important to mention here that when J&K was a state, the last budget of an elected government was presented by Dr. Haseeb Drabu on January 11, 2018, during the PDP-BJP rule with Mehbooba Mufti as Chief Minister. The budget session will start on the 3rd of March with the address of LG Manoj Sinha. Amid social media reports of behind-the-curtains efforts of an NC-BJP alliance, Omar Abdullah, during the recent times, was seen building closer ties with the Union government at the center. During the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Omar Abdullah was seen praising the PM and said that peace in J&K has come due to the efforts of the Prime Minister. In return, Omar Abdullah was also praised by the PM for his vision for J&K. The visible closeness of NC and BJP is an indication that something is cooking behind the curtains and who knows what would happen in the near future because the NC top brass has realized that without taking the BJP on board, the Chief Minister cannot enjoy independence in running the affairs of the J&K UT. The other day, LG Manoj Sinha said that there is no question of any confrontation with the J&K government if the target is only development. So, positive gestures, both from the Chief Minister and LG, show that something is cooking behind the curtains. On the other hand, the NC was facing huge pressure from its MP, some elected legislatures, and the people of Kashmir on the issue of statehood and restoration of Article 370. So, going by the present state of affairs in J&K, the budget session is expected to witness some moments of political tussle between the government and opposition on some sensitive issues like restoration of statehood and 370 amid Omar Abdullah’s efforts to steer J&K on part of development by showing his vision with the presentation of his maiden budget in the J&K assembly on the 7th of March, 2025.