The Assembly was not in session and the State Budget was not presented on Friday as mandated by the Constitution or rules of procedures of the Assembly, CPI(M) Parliamentary Party Secretary A.K. Balan has said.
In an open letter to Speaker N. Sakthan on Sunday, Mr. Balan said Finance Minister K.M. Mani had not sat on the seat allotted to him and had not used the Assembly mike. He was reading a paper using another device from the corridors of the Assembly. He later claimed to have presented the budget and held a press meet at the media room.
The Chief Marshal of the Assembly had not announced the arrival of the Speaker after ensuring the quorum.
The Speaker had not called the House to order or entered into business as usual by inviting Mr. Mani to present the budget. Neither the Speaker nor the Minister was present in their seats.
Members of the Treasury bench, claiming to present the budget, gleefully distributed sweets while a week-long mourning was in force in honour of former Speaker G. Karthikeyan who passed away when the Assembly was in session.
This was also in violation of rules that eatables should not be brought to the floor of the House.
