'No scope' for postponement of Union Budget: Naqvi

Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi has brushed aside opposition parties demand to postpone Union Budget.

With the opposition parties approaching the Election Commission seeking deferment of Union Budget in view of assembly polls, Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on Thursday said there is 'no scope' for the postponement.

There is no scope for a change, the budget will be announced on 1 February: Union Minister MA Naqvi pic.twitter.com/bk9giXYhKp

— ANI (@ANI_news) January 5, 2017

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had on Wednesday said that the Lok Sabha elections in 2014 were held soon after the Budget and brushed aside the opposition's demand.

Led by the Congress, representatives from several opposition parties including the Trinamool Congress, Janata Dal-United, Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party and the Rashtriya Janata Dal reached the EC's office on Thursday to raise their objections over the budget scheduled just before polls in five states.

We demand that budget be presented after March 8, which is when polling for elections will be over: GN Azad, Cong after meeting EC pic.twitter.com/x7GzS0eY28

— ANI (@ANI_news) January 5, 2017

The Bharatiya Janata Party, however, said it was a non-issue and slammed the opposition for politicising the government's constitutional duty.

The EC on Wednesday announced assembly election dates in Uttar Pradesh, Goa, Punjab, Uttarakhand and Manipur.

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