CM rejects Opposition charge on budget leak

Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy today rejected CPI(M) led LDF opposition's charge that budget papers for 2016-17 which he presented in the assembly was leaked and said LDF was behaving like they had "lost their senses."
"Nothing of that sort has happened", he told reporters during his post-budget press conference here.
However, since CPI-M Deputy leader in the house Kodiyeri Balakrishanan had lodged a complaint with the Speaker in this regard, the Additional Secretary (Finance) has been asked to enquire into the matter, he said.
"Nothing from the financial statement which I presented in the house has been leaked. No media has reported anything today. Usually such things comes in the media first", he said.

Taking a dig at the Opposition, he said that even if such a thing had happened, why had they not taken up the issue in the house before the budget presentation.
"So it is clear that the Opposition is relying on a document in which they did not have faith and confidence. They have lost their senses due to fear caused by the development and welfare initiatives of the UDF government", Chandy said.

LDF members who protested and boycotted the budget presentation demanding resignation of Chandy over the solar and bar scams had distributed a sheet of paper with a title 'budget at a glance'. They claimed it was part of the budget.

On the budget proposals, Chandy said focus has been given to development as also care for the marginalised sections.
Chandy asserted that no development projects in the state would be delayed due to resource crunch.
Claiming that state's economy is stable, Chandy said the state expects a revenue increase after implementation of GST. "We expect benefit under GST at least for a period of six months," he said.
Capital Expenditure has gone up tremendously and so "the state expects a corresponding increase in tax collection also", he pointed out.
Meanwhile, CPI(M) dubbed the budget proposals as one 'akin to throwing dust into the eyes of the people'. There were no concreate measures in it to check skyrockting of prices of essential commodities, CPI-M state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan said.

Though promises were aplenty, no clear cut measure was there in the budget to implement projects, he added.
Criticising the budget, BJP State President Kummanon Rajasekharan said the government has no proposals to find resources to implement projects, "which it promised plenty".
"Actually it is not a budget but the death knell of a government which has a lifespan of two months", he said.