Assembly session likely after Pongal, interim Budget by Feb

“Owing to the pandemic, the State government decided to postpone the first Assembly session and has planned to hold it after Pongal, by around January 20. After obtaining consent from Governor Banwarilal Purohit, the official announcement will be made soon,” said an official at the Secretariat.

The first assembly of Tamil Nadu commences with the Governor’s address on the first day, which lists the achievements of the government followed by a debate on the address for the next couple of days. In 2018, the Assembly session commenced on January 8 while in 2019, the session commenced on January 2. Last year, the session commenced on January 6. Sources said with the threat of the new variant of the virus, discussions had been held on whether to hold a session this year but as the State government has to present interim budget before the election, a decision was taken to go ahead after Pongal and present the interim budget by February.

Sources added that similar to the previous Assembly session in September, this session has also been planned in Kalaivanar Arangam as social distancing cannot be followed in the Assembly hall in Secretariat.