THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Speaker N Shakthan confirmed on Friday that Finance Minister K M Mani had presented the State budget during the day.
At a press conference, he said he was present in the Assembly when Mani was reading the budget. And, the Opposition allegation that the budget was presented in the absence of Speaker was not true.
“The first bell was given at 8.55 am. When the Chief marshal declared that speaker was coming in, the Opposition member crowded near the entrance door in order to prevent me from entering the hall. I managed to get inside with the help of Watch and Ward. By this time, Opposition members had destroyed Speaker’s chair and the mic. After this, the Watch and Ward staff brought me another chair. On Speaker’s dais, there are two chairs and I sat in one chair till 9 am.
When the time was up for Assembly session I found there was no mic and stood up and called the Finance Minister to present the budget. As there was no mic, I gestured to Mani to present the budget and this was shown in all TV channels. I was present in my chair till Mani was through with his job. After Mani’s speech, I said the session was dispersed and it will resume at 8:30 am on Monday. Only after making this announcement, I left my chair,” said the Speaker, narrating the day’s incidents.
The Speaker also lamented the ugly scenes that took place in the Assembly today. “What had happened was unfortunate and unpleasant things. Additional Watch and Ward staff were not deployed. Do you (media persons) know how many Watch and Ward staff are there in the Assembly. We shall see if there was any mistake from the part of Watch and Ward. We have not initiated action against anyone. But, the Assembly secretary has lodged a complaint with the police regarding the destruction of the computer and mic. The chief minister had given a written recommendation to switch the seats of Mani and C N Balakrishnan. The Speaker also has the right to change the seats of Assembly members,” he explained.
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