To clear the confusion over the dates of the forthcoming Assembly polls, the Government today said the Budget session of Parliament would be scheduled in such a manner that it does not clash with the polls.Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said today, ‘‘There could be flexibility in the presentation of the Railway Budget, though by the time of the presentation, campaigning for the polls would be over.”Election Commission officials had earlier indicated that the schedule of the Budget session (in February) had been taken into consideration when the three-phase schedule was fixed for Feb 3, 15 and 23, and that the date for presentation of the Railway Budget should be adjusted by a day or two to allow the smooth conduct of the polls.As if in response, Azad said today, ‘‘Neither will the Assembly elections disrupt the Budget session of Parliament nor are we approaching the Election Commission for changing the polling dates.’’On extending the Budget session, Azad retorted: ‘‘We are not against more sittings but it should not be for the sake of sittings. The duration of each session should be need-based with no fixed period.’’At the recent all-party meeting convened by thye Speaker, the Opposition had suggested that Parliament should be in session for a minimum of 100 days. Countering that, Azad pointed out that the last Budget session lasted three months but only 10 pc of the business could be conducted, whereas in the 17-day session ending tomorrow, ‘‘it was 100 per cent business.All laws which the government thought were important were passed.where was the need for a longer session?’’
