With Finance Minister Arun Jaitley flown to the US for treatment, Railways minister Piyush Goyal might present the interim budget on February 1. Goyal is the back-up plan for the government in case Jaitley fails to return before the interim budget presentation on February 1.
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Jaitley has gone to the US, reportedly after he was diagnosed with soft tissue sarcoma, a rare form of cancer. On Wednesday, Congress president Rahul Gandhi had taken to Twitter to wish him a speedy recovery. "I'm upset to hear Arun Jaitley Ji is not well. We fight him on a daily basis for his ideas. However, I and the Congress party send him our love and best wishes for a speedy recovery. We are with you and your family 100% during this difficult period Mr Jaitley," he wrote on Twitter.
Last year, Goyal was managing the finance portfolio in Jaitley's absence when the latter was away for his kidney transplantation surgery. Goyal had then handled finance ministry for close to four months.
Back from his surgery, Jaitley was at his defensive best, stepping in regularly to defend the government, especially during the recently concluded winter session of Parliament. Jaitley went on an offensive during the Rafale fight jets debate in Parliament, attacking the Congress, with personal strides on Rahul Gandhi.
The interim budget is the last chance for the Union government to impress the widely disgruntled poor and middleclass sections ahead of the general elections this year. Hence, it is widely expected that the Centre might take the ultra-populist route this year.