The Lok Sabha on Monday passed the Uttarakhand Budget, hours after Finance Minister Arun Jaitley moved the Bill for discussion. Members of the Congress staged a walkout, even as Jaitley said it was a constitutional requirement to pass the Budget. The Union government had pushed the Budget through as an Ordinance at the end of March, after the Congress-led state was put under President’s Rule following a rebellion within the party. Ordinances need to be approved by the legislature within six weeks for them to hold.

Congress leaders questioned why the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Centre was rushing to push the Budget, when a floor test has been scheduled for the Uttarakhand Assembly on Tuesday. Earlier in the day, the Uttarakhand High Court had ruled that nine Congress MLAs, who had been disqualified after opposing deposed Chief Minister Harish Rawat, cannot vote during Tuesday’s test.