The fifth budget of the Congress-led United Democratic Front government of Kerala presented by Finance Minister KM Mani in the State Assembly on Friday may go down as the blackest day in the legislature history of the southern Indian state.
The budget for 2015-'16 etched its place in the history not for its contents but for the way it was presented.
Earlier in the week, the Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led opposition Left Democratic Front had declared that it would not allow Mani, who is also the leader of Kerala Congress (M), the second-largest constituent of the UDF, to present the budget. They questioned his right to present the budget, citing allegations levelled against him by some bar owners that he had taken a bribe from them to facilitate the reopening of closed drinking establishments.
The Left Democratic Front threatened that all roads leading to the assembly would be blocked to prevent Mani from entering the assembly. The finance minister decided to stay a step ahead of the game by spending the night in the assembly, as did most members of his coalition.
Despite this, his budget presentation was marked by several unprecedented spectacles. First, the budget was presented by the minister without the Speaker in the chair. Some LDF legislators occupied the Speaker’s podium. They threw out his chair and smashed his mike, computer and other equipment.
Before that, an enormous scuffle had ensued when the Opposition tried to break through the human wall mounted by the watch and ward staff in front of the Speaker's podium. More than a dozen members of the watch and ward staff and about half a dozen MLAs were injured in the clash. Three MLAs collapsed in the house.
In the melee, Mani entered the house through a rear door and started reading the budget speech from the seat of another minister. He stopped reading the speech after six minutes and laid the documents on the table of the house. Later he read out the speech before the media in the media room of the assembly.
Protests outside
Outside the assembly, there were also protests to demand Mani's resignation. Here too, members of the LDF and the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha clashed with police outside too. The police used batons, tear gas and water cannons to disperse the crowd after stones and bottles began to be hurled.
Speaker N Sakthan described the vents as very unfortunate. He said that appropriate action would be taken against MLAs for destroying the property of the assembly and violating the rules of conduct.
Chief Minister Oommen Chandy has described the budget day as the "Blackest Day" in the history of Kerala assembly. He said that the allegations against Mani were part of a “political conspiracy”, apparently alluding to the disaffection caused by government’s decision to shut down all liquor bars in August as part of its decision to introduce prohibition in a phased manner.
Many had warned that the powerful liquor lobby would ensure that the move was defeated, but Chandy had never imagined that it would manage to rattle his government. The bar owners have shaken the Congress-led government by tying down several ministers in bribery charges.
Bar Bribery Case
The current opposition offensive against the government is the result of the allegation made by Kerala Bar Owners Association working president Biju Ramesh. He had alleged that Mani had demanded Rs.5 crore to facilitate the reopening of 418 bars that have been closed from April 1. As an advance, the bar owners claim to had aid him Rs 1 crore.
Though Mani has denied the charge and the government has backed him, the allegation has gained strength because the government later decided to allow these shuttered bars to function as beer and wine parlours. However, the bar owners want their full licenses to be restored.
Biju Ramesh himself has threatened to release evidence regarding other ministers after the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau completes its inquiry against Mani.
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The budget for 2015-'16 etched its place in the history not for its contents but for the way it was presented.
Earlier in the week, the Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led opposition Left Democratic Front had declared that it would not allow Mani, who is also the leader of Kerala Congress (M), the second-largest constituent of the UDF, to present the budget. They questioned his right to present the budget, citing allegations levelled against him by some bar owners that he had taken a bribe from them to facilitate the reopening of closed drinking establishments.
The Left Democratic Front threatened that all roads leading to the assembly would be blocked to prevent Mani from entering the assembly. The finance minister decided to stay a step ahead of the game by spending the night in the assembly, as did most members of his coalition.
Despite this, his budget presentation was marked by several unprecedented spectacles. First, the budget was presented by the minister without the Speaker in the chair. Some LDF legislators occupied the Speaker’s podium. They threw out his chair and smashed his mike, computer and other equipment.
Before that, an enormous scuffle had ensued when the Opposition tried to break through the human wall mounted by the watch and ward staff in front of the Speaker's podium. More than a dozen members of the watch and ward staff and about half a dozen MLAs were injured in the clash. Three MLAs collapsed in the house.
In the melee, Mani entered the house through a rear door and started reading the budget speech from the seat of another minister. He stopped reading the speech after six minutes and laid the documents on the table of the house. Later he read out the speech before the media in the media room of the assembly.
Protests outside
Outside the assembly, there were also protests to demand Mani's resignation. Here too, members of the LDF and the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha clashed with police outside too. The police used batons, tear gas and water cannons to disperse the crowd after stones and bottles began to be hurled.
Speaker N Sakthan described the vents as very unfortunate. He said that appropriate action would be taken against MLAs for destroying the property of the assembly and violating the rules of conduct.
Chief Minister Oommen Chandy has described the budget day as the "Blackest Day" in the history of Kerala assembly. He said that the allegations against Mani were part of a “political conspiracy”, apparently alluding to the disaffection caused by government’s decision to shut down all liquor bars in August as part of its decision to introduce prohibition in a phased manner.
Many had warned that the powerful liquor lobby would ensure that the move was defeated, but Chandy had never imagined that it would manage to rattle his government. The bar owners have shaken the Congress-led government by tying down several ministers in bribery charges.
Bar Bribery Case
The current opposition offensive against the government is the result of the allegation made by Kerala Bar Owners Association working president Biju Ramesh. He had alleged that Mani had demanded Rs.5 crore to facilitate the reopening of 418 bars that have been closed from April 1. As an advance, the bar owners claim to had aid him Rs 1 crore.
Though Mani has denied the charge and the government has backed him, the allegation has gained strength because the government later decided to allow these shuttered bars to function as beer and wine parlours. However, the bar owners want their full licenses to be restored.
Biju Ramesh himself has threatened to release evidence regarding other ministers after the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau completes its inquiry against Mani.