Finance minister not to quit over budget ‘leak’

Kerala Finance Minister Thomas Issac yesterday ruled out stepping down after the Congress-led opposition demanded his resignation over the leak of his budget speech on social media.
The goof-up occurred after the budget highlights prepared by his office for easy reference reached the hands of the media, a little after Issac began his budget speech.
“This should not have happened. However, the secrecy of the budget has not been affected as 30 documents associated with the budget were intact. The question of resignation does not arise,” Issac told reporters soon after he came out of the assembly.
Issac began his speech at 9am and, by 9.50am, proposals in the budget that he was yet to read out were flashed on TV channels and appeared on social media.
By 11.20am, leader of the opposition, Ramesh Chennithala, raised the issue, holding up copies of what he said was the budget speech which was leaked on the social media.
Unhappy with the response of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who said the matter would be looked into, the opposition boycotted the budget and walked out of the house.
Later, speaking to reporters, Chennithala said the sanctity of the budget has been lost and it was now just a bunch of papers.
“We are meeting governor P Sathasivam to brief him about this blunder. This budget is not even worth the value of waste paper as the budget has a certain amount of sanctity which has gone out of the window,” Chennithala claimed.
Senior Congress leader V D Sateeshan pointed out that yesterday’s edition of vernacular newspaper Metro Vartha carried certain tax concession announcements and the words were identical to Issac’s speech.
“It was out at 9.50am and technically speaking only after the minister completes his speech, should the details of the budget be available to the media. We will look into what went wrong,” said State Minister for Parliamentary Affairs A K Balan after a meeting with the chief minister at state party headquarters.
Former state finance minister K M Mani, who has presented 13 state budgets, told reporters in the assembly that the budget should be treated as null and void.
“The chief minister should ask Issac to quit and then appoint a new finance minister, who should present a new budget, as what he has presented has no value at all as its sanctity has been lost,” Mani maintained.
Lone BJP member in the assembly, O Rajagopal said: “This goof up could possibly have happened because there is a serious difference of opinion between Vijayan and Issac and they do not have the best of relations.”
Earlier, Issac sacked his assistant private secretary Manoj K Puthiavila, who was in charge of his media relations, following the leaks.
Meanwhile veteran legislator P C George, currently an independent legislator, said this was the best budget he had seen in all his years as a legislator.
“This leak does not mean anything and in the best interests of the state, Issac should not quit over this because nobody knows about finances like he does. There is not a single suitable candidate who is fit to be finance minister, at a time when the state finances are grim,” George said.

BUDGET AT A GLANCE
*Budget promises Rs250bn worth infrastructure projects in 2017-18
*Government to spend Rs1.5bn on water conservation project. Waterbody revival will be taken up NREGA.
*Free treatment for life style diseases. Primary health sector to get Rs20bn. These health centres will provide free diabetes, cholesterol drugs.
*Budget makes provisions for creation of over more than 5,000 medical posts, including doctors.
*Rs10mn allocated for sewage maintenance. Efforts will be on to bring an end for manual scavenging.
*Budget promises creation of 2,500 new posts of teachers in the state. State schools to get 45,000 more smart classrooms.
*Rs1bn crore allocated for Smart City mission. Thiruvananthapuram likely to be included.
*Government to set up autism parks in all districts of the state.
*Budget allocates Rs16.21bn for child welfare.
*Finance minister announces Rs100mn for endosulfan victims.
*Rs3.50bn allocated under Karuna scheme.
*Over 100,000 homeless people to get houses under budgetary provisions.
*Rs1.28bn allocated for coir industry. Rs500mn will be spent under coir workers’ welfare scheme.
*Government to spend Rs390mn for development of ports.