Opposition all set to stop Mani from presenting Budget today

Maintaining that allegations against finance minister KM Mani were a part of political conspiracy, Kerala CM Oommen Chandy asserted he would present Budget at any cost

Finance minister KM Mani will present his 13th Budget on Friday amidst a strong wave of resentment from the Opposition, which is keen on scuttling the government's plan.

The Left Front and the BJP have already announced they would block all entrances of the Legislative complex from early hours of Friday to prevent Mani from entering.

Thiruvananthapuram is under tight police vigil and 2,000 policemen have been deployed to respond to emergencies. The district collector has announced a holiday for all education institutions in the city's corporation limits.

On his part, Mani made it clear he would not stay back in the Assembly complex today to avoid Opposition plan to blockade his presence tomorrow.

In a pre-emptive move, the entire Opposition MLAs are staying in the complex to prevent Mani from proceeding with the Budget presentation. The Assembly was dissolved in the early hours of Thursday.

Mani, in the Assembly today countered the Opposition charges saying his 50-year-long public life had been transparent. "All these allegations are baseless and purposefully aimed at tarnishing my image," Mani said.

Maintaining that allegations against Mani were a part of political conspiracy, chief minister Oommen Chandy asserted he would present the Budget at any cost.

The LDF took up the bar bribery issue in the Assembly today on the basis of an audio tape aired by a local television channel, which has recorded the conversation between some bar owners, who alleged three Congress ministers were also involved in the scam.

The matter was raised as a notice for adjournment motion by P Thilothaman (CPI) but Speaker N Sakthan disallowed the plea for motion after the chief minister's reply.

Opposition leader VS Achuthanandan said the government would have to face dire consequences if it allowed Mani to present the Budget.

As part of their agitation, the LDF has announced a "protest march tomorrow, in which thousands of LDF volunteers are expected to go for a siege of the Assembly complex".

Both Achuthanandan and Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, secretary of CPI (M) state unit, are leading the agitation.

Besides LDF, BJP's Yuva Morcha has also announced plans to stage protest before the Assembly.

N Sakthan elected Kerala Speaker
Congress legislator and ruling UDF nominee N Sakthan was elected as the Kerala Assembly Speaker today.

Sakthan secured 74 votes, while his opponent CPI-M legislator, Ayisha Potti, garnered 66 votes. The election was necessitated after Speaker G Karthikeyan died on March 7.

There are 140 elected members and one nominated Anglo-Indian member in the state Assembly.

A key highlight of the election was KB Ganesh Kumar, a former Cabinet minister in the Oommen Chandy government; and representing the Kerala Congress (Pillai) faction, voted for the Left opposition candidate. The action led to his expulsion from the United Democratic Front (UDF).

Sakthan, 63, is a member of the strong Nadar community, which has a sizeable population in the Thiruvananthapuram district. A former minister, the new Speaker is a four-time legislator from the capital district and had been the deputy to Karthikeyan since 2011.