Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] Polit Bureau member Pinarayi Vijayan has said the Kerala government had deliberately created a crisis situation inside the Assembly on Friday during the presentation of the budget by replacing the watch and ward with pro-Congress policemen.
Addressing media persons in Aluva on Sunday, he said it was not the Opposition legislators but these policemen who had unleashed violence inside the Assembly hall.
‘‘The watch and ward officials, who had a clear understanding of all the MLAs, were replaced with some criminal policemen as a deliberate measure to create trouble and enable the budget presentation,’’ he said.
According to him, Finance Minister K.M. Mani carried out the budget speech by violating the constitutional provisions and hence it could not be regarded as a valid budget presentation.
‘‘During the session, not even a single MLA was present on their seats, which is a pre-requisite for holding any Assembly session. The Governor must examine whether sufficient number of MLAs are present while the Finance Minister attempted to present the budget,’’ he said.
He took a serious note of the Governor’s view that the mayhem in the Assembly made a case for invoking Article 356. ‘‘What we are now looking forward to is whether the Governor will examine the legal validity of the so-called budget presentation and take appropriate action,’’ Mr. Vijayan said.
Mr. Vijayan visited the four CPI(M) activists who had been admitted to a hospital in Angamaly after being injured during a police action on Saturday.
‘‘The Rural SP, who brutally attacked our supporters, behaved like a vandal. The government should take action against the officer,’’ he said.
Assembly boycott
Addressing a press conference in Thrissur, Mr. Vijayan said the Opposition would boycott the Assembly if the government continued its stand on the budget.
He said the government had no moral right to continue in power.
The Governor should clear his stand whether the budget presentation was legal or not. The Governor had the moral responsibility to look into the issue, Mr. Vijayan said.
He said the agitation demanding Mr. Mani’s resignation would be intensified in the coming days.
