Gandhinagar:

The over a month long first budget session of 14 th Gujarat Assembly will being tomorrow.

The session to be concluded on March 28 is likely to see the passage of around half a dozen bills including the one making penal provisions for using fake caste certificates for reservation benefits. It will be held in the renovated and reconstructed building of the assembly building Vithalbhai Patel bhavan.

Deputy CM cum Finance Minister Nitin Patel will present the budget on February 20 ie the second day of the session.

On day one tomorrow the formality of election of speaker would be done in the first sitting. Former Minister and Raopura MLA Rajendra Trivedi who had filed his nomination for the post of speaker as consensus candidate yesterday will be formally elected. CM Vijay Rupani would move the motion for this and it would be seconded by LoP Paresh Dhanani.

Governor O P Kohli would address the house in the second sitting tomorrow.

The first session of the house was likely to be quite stormy owing to the changed equations.

Main opposition Congress with a stronger strength of 77 (81 with supporters 2 independents Jignesh Mevani and Bhupendra Khant and 2 of Bhartiya Tribal Party of Chhotu Vasava) in 182 member assembly (only 61 in the last one which even went down with switching over and loosing in by polls), is likely to raise several issues including the Narmada water, recent Dalit self immolation, various farmers issues etc prominently.

BJP with the reduced strength of 99 (100 including the support of one independent MLA while it was 115 in last one ; it went up to 121 by the end) would also try to remain somewhat guarded.

DeshGujarat