Assembly: Guv address on Jan 17, Budget on Feb 7. No Question Hour on three days

The 2025-26 Budget Session, the 13th session of the 15th Kerala Legislative Assembly, will spread over 27 days from January 17 to March 28. The Governor's address and the 2025-26 Budget presentation will be the highlights of the session.

However, what could be controversial is a rare, if not unprecedented, decision taken by Speaker A N Shamseer. There will be no Question Hour on January 20, 21 and 22, the days when the Governor's address would be taken up for discussion. At least in the last two decades, the Question Hour has never been cancelled.

The Speaker cited the overwork of the Legislature Secretariat staff as the reason. He said the 13th session had been scheduled right after the week-long Kerala Legislature International Book Festival (KLIBF), which ended on January 13, and this he reasoned had left the staff with little time to prepare answers for the questions submitted by the MLAs.

The deputy secretaries and under-secretaries who should have worked on the 'Question Hour'-related proceedings - right from setting the calendar of events and liaisoning with government departments to finalising the dates for the questions - were occupied with the KLIBF.

"Please don't drag the government into this issue, and I hope the opposition will understand our concerns and co-operate," the Speaker told reporters on Wednesday, January 15. He said the session was long, and the opposition members would get enough time to submit all the questions they wanted.

The Question Hour, which takes up the first hour of a day's proceedings, has always been held sacrosanct. Even when the opposition wants to stage a major protest inside the Assembly, it traditionally had done so only after the Question Hour. Nonetheless, the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Kerala Legislature authorises the Speaker to cancel Question Hour at his discretion.

On January 17, there will be the customary policy address by the Governor. This will be the first address of Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar who was sworn in as Kerala's 23rd Governor on January 2. Arlekar, who has his roots in the RSS, replaced Arif Mohammad Khan who had a bitter relationship with the LDF Government.

It is still not clear how the new Governor would respond to the portion on Higher Education that would be written for him by the government. Arlekar's predecessor had invariably revolted against the government line, particularly in the higher education sector. The Draft UGC Rules, which the government has vehemently objected to but has been backed by Governor Arlekar, has already opened a potential flash point.

Finance Minister K N Balagopal will present the 2025-26 Budget on February 7. Between the Governor's address and the Budget presentation on January 20, 21 and 22, will be discussions on the resolution offering thanks to the Governor's address.

The discussion on the general budget will be held on February 10, 11 and 12. On February 13, the last batch of supplementary grants for the previous 2024-25 Budget will be considered.

Then, there will be a break from February 14 to March 2. "During this time, the Budget will be scrutinised by various subject committees," Speaker Shamseer said.

Then, for 13 days from March 4 to 26, the House will discuss the budget proposals department-wise. The session would conclude on March 28.