The much-antic ipated Budget Session of the Goa Legislative Assembly — widely expected to witness a fierce confrontation between the Opposition and the Pra mod Sawant-led government — ended in an anti-climax on Monday after the sudden en forcement of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) following the announcement of the Ponda Assembly by-election.
With the 21-Ponda As sembly constituency falling vacant after the demise of former Chief Minister Ravi Naik, the Election Commis sion’s notification for the by-poll triggered the MCC in the constituency and across South Goa district. Soon after, the Assembly session — originally scheduled to contin ue until March 27 — was adjourned, ef fectively bringing an abrupt end to what had been billed as a politically charged sitting. The premature adjournment meant MLAs were unable to raise constitu ency-related issues through Calling At tention motions or Zero Hour mentions, prompting Oppo sition legislators to accuse the gov ernment of using the development to avoid scrutiny. Even as the ses sion ended prema turely, the Assem bly went ahead and cleared the full State Budget for 2026–27 amid chaotic scenes.
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Goa Forward Party president and Fatorda MLA Vi jai Sardesai strongly criticised the manner in which the Budget was approved, pointing out that most of the finan cial business was pushed through without debate. He also drew attention to the precedent set in 2013 when, under similar circumstances, then Chief Minister Manohar Parri kar opted for a Vote on Account, allowing the full Budget to be debated later. “Seventy-nine per cent of the demands were passed without discussion. This is wrong. I stayed in the House because I wanted to remind everyone of the 2013 prec edent. The undiscussed demands amount to Rs 23,868 crore. Passing such a large portion of the Budget without legislative scrutiny undermines the very purpose of the As sembly,” he said. Sardesai urged the government to adopt the same ap proach instead of rushing through the entire Budget during a curtailed session. Despite his appeal, the government proceeded to clear the Budget through a voice vote amid unprecedented cha os, with Opposition MLAs protesting inside the House. Some members who resisted the move were marshalled out. Sardesai remained in the House briefly to place his ob jections on record before walking out. He later clarified that his decision to stay back while other Opposition MLAs walked out was intended to ensure that the objections were formally recorded in the Assembly proceedings. Speaking to reporters, Benaulim MLA Venzy Viegas al leged that the situation had been anticipated by the gov ernment. “Didn’t they know the by-election would be held? I have been saying this since day one. What happened today was preplanned — it’s all drama. We lost the opportunity to raise crucial issues related to roads, water, schools, and in frastructure,” he said. Velim MLA Cruz Silva echoed the allegation. “It was al ways known that by-elections had to be held within six months. This was pre-planned. Today, demands related to the departments of only four ministers were discussed during this session,” he said. Leader of Opposition Yuri Alemao was equally scathing. “If the session was curtailed due to the Ponda by-election, the government should have taken a Vote on Account. In stead, the Chief Minister passed the entire budget without any discussion on the demands. This is a murder of democ racy. It’s dictatorship, nothing else,” he said. Aldona MLA Carlos Álvares Ferreira also criticised the move, stating that the Opposition had demanded a Vote on Account and a detailed Budget discussion at a later session. “Even if you are adjourning the Assembly, you must take a Vote on Account because it gives the government Budget provisions for the next three months. Our demand, when they were trying to pass the budget, was to go for a Vote on Account and then have the discussion. When you have a budget session, it is usually a longer one,” he said. “The next session they will hold will be a formality — a two-day sitting just to meet the requirement of having a session every six months. That is not what we wanted. We wanted a full Budget session because in a full session we can discuss every demand,” he added. “Without giving us the chance, they cut it short. There was no discussion. They directly went in for the vote, pushed us out, and pushed the Budget through behind our backs,” he said. Earlier in the day, proceedings of the Assembly were ad journed twice after Opposition members stormed the well of the House during Question Hour to protest the disallow ance of nearly 16 Private Member’s Bills, including the pro posed Goa Protection of Agricultural Lands Bill. Opposition MLAs entered the House dressed in black for the second consecutive day and held placards while raising slogans demanding that their bills be taken up for discus sion. Speaker Ganesh Gaonkar first adjourned the House for 30 minutes. When proceedings resumed at 12.15 pm, the protests continued, forcing another adjournment until 1 pm. During the proceedings, Sardesai also raised a Point of Order urging the Speaker to restrain ministers from mak ing assurances or financial commitments during the budget discussions because the MCC had already come into force. Referring to Election Commission guidelines, he noted that ministers are prohibited from sanctioning grants, an nouncing financial assistance, or making promises of funds during the MCC period. He argued that discussions on De mands for Grants could risk violating these provisions. AITC national spokesperson and political analyst Trajano D’Mello said the by-poll announcement effectively gave the government a convenient escape route. “The announcement of the by-election to Ponda gave the government an excuse to hurry in passing the Budget and adjourn the Assembly session sine die, thereby depriving Opposition MLAs of the opportunity to raise questions on various issues. The government has often been seen divert ing many important issues, particularly those pertaining to the environment in the State. The Assembly session also ended by exposing that the Opposition too was not united,” he said. Defending the government’s decision, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said the MCC made detailed discussions on Demands for Grants difficult because ministers often give assurances during such debates. “This is an election year, and with municipal elections coming up, the MCC will again come into force. We will ef fectively have time to work only until December. To com plete development works, a full Budget is necessary. That is why we have presented a full Budget,” Sawant said. The Chief Minister added that the Assembly would re convene in August or September, giving MLAs another op portunity to raise questions and move legislation. Highlighting the State’s finances, Sawant said Goa had been ranked second in the country in fiscal health in a re cent report by NITI Aayog. “The report shows that despite limited resources, Goa has performed well on fiscal parameters. Continuing on the path of fiscal consolidation, we have presented a budget of Rs 30,194.89 crore, with a revenue surplus of Rs 1,666 crore and a fiscal deficit of Rs 3,895 crore,” he said.
