UP supplementary budget overshadowed by Oppn protest over Ram Temple donation theft row
Lucknow, Aug 5 (IANS) The Uttar Pradesh Assembly witnessed a heated confrontation as a political dispute over the alleged Ram Temple donation theft issue overshadowed the presentation of the state government’s first supplementary budget for the financial year 2026-27.
The Yogi Adityanath-led government presented a Rs 59,019.54 crore supplementary budget in the Assembly on Tuesday, but proceedings were dominated by protests from Opposition members, especially Samajwadi Party (SP) legislators, who demanded a discussion on the alleged Ram Temple donation theft issue before taking up the budget debate.
The Assembly is expected to resume proceedings on Wednesday with discussion on the supplementary budget likely to be held.
During Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s address on Tuesday, SP MLAs continuously raised slogans and created a commotion in the House. The Opposition members entered the Well of the Assembly and protested, demanding that the issue of alleged theft of Ram Temple offerings be discussed first.
SP MLA Sachin Yadav displayed a poster carrying the Chief Minister’s photograph along with protest slogans during the demonstration. Assembly Speaker Satish Mahana first warned the legislator against disrupting proceedings but later suspended him from the House after he continued with the protest.
As tensions increased, marshals were called inside the Assembly. SP women legislators surrounded Sachin Yadav during the protest, following which women marshals were also deployed to maintain order.
The exchange of slogans between ruling party and Opposition members created a tense atmosphere in the House. The situation improved after Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Suresh Khanna, and Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak left the Assembly.
After his suspension, Sachin Yadav staged a sit-in protest outside the Assembly premises near the statue of former Prime Minister Chaudhary Charan Singh. SP legislators accused the government of avoiding a discussion on the Ram Temple donation issue.
Meanwhile, details of the supplementary budget were presented amid the disruptions. The Heavy and Medium Industries Department received the highest allocation, with a provision of Rs 22,107.88 crore. The Rural Development Department was allocated Rs 17,942.73 crore.
The supplementary budget is intended to meet additional financial requirements of various departments and support ongoing development projects across Uttar Pradesh. However, the political clash over the Ram Temple donation theft controversy dominated the first day of the Assembly session, pushing the financial proposals into the background.
The upcoming discussion on the supplementary budget is expected to see further debate between the government and Opposition as the session progresses.
–IANS
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