Kerala Assembly Budget session turns violent; three opposition leaders hospitalized

By Newsgram Staff Writer

Opposition's Left Democratic Front (LDF) members turned the Kerala Assembly upside down Thursday as they tried to stop the Finance Minister K.M. Mani from presenting the budget. The CPI(M) led opposition had earlier warned that it would not let Mani present the budget in the assembly as he is facing bribery charges in the bar license scandal.

The opposition members who had stayed overnight in the assembly blocked the way to the Speaker's podium and threw away his chair and mike. The unruly opposition tried to stop the Finance Minister from entering the House by blocking the entrance. A scuffle also broke out between the members of the opposition and the House security.

Mani, however managed to enter the House from a different entrance and present the budget. The news that the budget has been passed turned the LDF and Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) workers protesting outside the assembly violent.

The police had to resort to lathi-charge, teargas shells and opened water cannons to disperse the violent protesters. They set fire to a police vehicle and beat up several police personnel.