Electricity Minister Aryadan Mohammed has criticised the comments made against him by IUML State general secretary K.P.A. Majeed.
Answering a query of the media, Mr. Mohammed said Mr. Majeed or Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) State president Syed Hyderali Shihab Thangal should not teach him political decency.
Mr. Mohammed said he had the right to criticise his party’s decisions at its meeting and did not need the permission of IUML leaders. They need not try to teach him the Constitution, democratic decency or joint responsibility of a coalition ministry, Mr. Mohammed said.
“Presenting the budget is the privilege of a Finance Minister in a democratic setup and the other Ministers usually do not interfere in it. Perhaps his ignorance about the democratic setup may have provoked Mr. Majeed to make such a comment,” the Minister said.
Mr. Mohammed had expressed his displeasure at the parliamentary committee meeting of the Congress that the special package allotted to the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation in the budget was insufficient to rescue the utility. Mr. Majeed on Friday said if he (Mr. Mohammed) was not satisfied with the budgetary allocation, he should resign as Minister. He also criticised the Minister for airing his opinion publicly, instead of on the forum concerned.
Thangal’s stance
Staff Reporter writes from Malappuram: Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) State president Syed Hyderali Shihab Thangal said here on Saturday that controversies over non-issues would not help the United Democratic Front (UDF) government.
In a statement here, the IUML leader said it was time to be happy over a people-friendly budget which had brought much solace to the ordinary people in the State. “The Finance Minister has presented the budget with the solid intention of preventing inflation,” he said. Mr. Thangal’s statement came in the wake of the criticism levelled by senior Congress leader from Malappuram district and Minister for Power Aryadan Mohammed not only against the budget but also against the Muslim League.
Mr. Thangal, obviously with the intention of playing down the tirade of Mr. Mohammed against the IUML, said here on Saturday that unity within the UDF was needed most now.
Call for unity
“Everyone should be cautious, and cooperation and unity will be the strength of the UDF,” he said.
Although Mr. Mohammed had made some comments about the IUML soon after the budget presentation by Finance Minister K.M. Mani on Friday, it was Mr. Majeed’s sharp reaction which incensed the Congress leader further.
