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Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s first Budget presentation seemed a staid affair till the proceedings stopped for a brief while. A visibly uncomfortable Jaitley, who had been sipping water throughout, sought a five-minute break, saying he had a shoulder cramp.
This perhaps is the first time that the Budget presentation was halted for reasons other than disruption.
In the morning, as Jaitley started reading out his speech, the atmosphere was dull, with Opposition benches looking listless, barring the occasional shouts from Trinamool Congress MPs.
This was unlike earlier, when the BJP as the Opposition made it a point to shout down or interject quite often during Budget presentations by the UPA Government.
Perhaps, it was because of the lack of interjections and disruptions this year that Jaitley got no break during his over two-hour-long speech. The 61-year-old Minister, said to be a diabetic, has had no respite from work since he took charge of the key portfolios of Finance and Defence.
During the break, a medical team rushed in for assistance, but the Finance Minister refused help and said he just wanted some rest.
Just before Jaitley resumed his speech sitting, after seeking permission from the Chair, his Cabinet colleague Sushma Swaraj was seen mixing some tablets in water and offering it to him.
Incidentally, in 2009, Pranab Mukerjee, as acting FM, was seen eating chocolates during a 10-minute break during the Interim Budget presentation, as his sugar level had reportedly dropped. Mukherjee got the much-needed break, as veteran Janata Dal (Secular) MP took unwell.
Yellow splashMany BJP members wore yellow clothes on Thursday. While Jaitley himself wore a yellowish jacket, his wife and daughter, who were sitting on the upper gallery, were dressed in yellow salwar suits.
The Budget presentation was also witnessed by industrialist Rahul Bajaj, former Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh, Janata Dal’s Rajya Sabha MP Pavan Verma — they were seen taking down vigorous notes.
Among others spotted in the upper gallery was well-known lyricist Javed Akhtar.
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