Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy today appealed to opposition parties to participate in the budget discussions and not boycott it as threatened by them.
Governor P Sathasivam's reaction that appropriate action needs to be taken against those responsible for the ‘unruly behaviour' in the Assembly on March 13 was not against the government, he said.
It was the opposition, not us, which met the Governor and complained about the developments in the House when the budget was presented by Finance Minsiter K M Mani, Chandy told reporters at Kottayam.
In the light of Governor making it clear that he would not intervene in the budget, this was the ‘best opportunity' for the opposition to cooperate with the government, Chandy said. The Governor has said the budget was presented. Hence, the opposition should participate in the budget discussions. We will finalise the budget proposals in cooperation with the opposition”, Chandy said, adding that he could not say now if action would be taken against any MLAs involved in the March 13 incidents.
Meanwhile, Opposition leader V S Achutanandan and CPI(M) state secretary, Kodieryi Balakrishnan said the government cannot continue in power in the light of the observations of the Governor. “It was a severe setback to the government”, Achutanandan said.
Balakrishnan said Mani, who is facing bribery allegations in the bar scam, should resign.
CPI(M) Politburo member Pinarayi Vijayan said the Governor cannot be criticised for the observations and his views cannot be dismissed saying he is a “BJP nominee”. Former Lt Governor of Andaman and Nicobar Islands and senior Congress leader Vakkom Purushothaman felt the Governor had “exceeded” his powers when he stated that he would be submitting a report to the President under Art 356, which deals with failure of the constitutional machinery in Kerala.
The Governor had yesterday expressed ‘deep concern' at the unruly scenes in the assembly and had stated that he would be submitting a report to the President on the developments and stressed that appropriate action needs to be taken against those responsible for the “unruly behaviour”. “The happenings in the floor of the Assembly on March 13, 2015 may even justify submission of a report by the Governor to the President of India under Article 356 of the Constitution of India”, he had stated.
