Oppn alleges Kerala Budget leaked by govt; read it before FM in Assembly

Thiruvananthapuram: Opposition in Kerala Assembly staged a walkout on Friday after alleging that the government has leaked excerpts of the Budget for 2017-18 on Facebook.

Congress-led opposition legislators read out details of the state budget even as finance minister Thomas Isaac was presenting the document in the Assembly.

Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala said the finance minister should resign, because the budget was leaked from his office and its details were on social media before his speech.

“The sanctity of the budget has been compromised. It has never happened in the legislative history of the country. The finance minister has no moral responsibility to continue in office,” Congress spokesman Rajmohan Unnithan was reported as saying.

Meanwhile, Kerala government ordered a probe into the matter. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan called it an “unprecedented situation” and Speaker Sreerama Krishanan said if the budget was leaked out it was a serious issue.

Isaac said that highlights of the Budget were sent to media by the Finance Minister's office and some of the announcement was released even before it was presented in the Assembly.

“Only highlights meant for media were circulated,” said Thomas Isaac.