Abdul Mannan row casts shadow on Budget

Kolkata: Congress and Left Front will boycott the presentation of the state Budget for 2017-18 in protest against the alleged humiliation of Leader of Opposition Abdul Mannan on Wednesday. State finance minister Amit Mitra will place the budget in the Assembly on Friday.

“We will be taking part in the discussion on the Budget Session in the days to come. But we are not attending the state Budget on Friday. The Speaker has suspended Mr Mannan for two days. If the Opposition leader is not allowed to come, then it is useless to attend the Budget,” Left legislature party leader Sujan Chakraborty said.

Congress MLA Asit Mitra claimed that the Congress will join hands with the Left Front and will place a “parallel budget” on Friday outside the House but within the campus protesting against the Budget.

“The Budget by the state finance minister will be the Budget of the Trinamul Congress party and not of the common people. It will be full of false promises. Our budget statement will be for the people,” Mr Mitra said.

The ‘parallel budget’ will be placed at the same time when finance minister will place the Budget inside the House. State congress president Adhir Chowdhury will stage a sit-in demonstration on Friday outside the Assembly.

Congress party insiders said that MLA Sukhbilas Barma has been given the responsibility to draft the parallel budget. As per plans, Left MLA Biswanath Chowdhury will pose as  the, MLA  Manoj Chakraborty will act as the parliamentary affairs minister while Left legislature party leader Sujan Chakraborty will pose as the finance minister.

The Congress and Left Front MLAs who boycotted the Session inside the House on Wednesday put up a demonstration on the Assembly premises wearing jackets with pictures of the state Assembly vandalism on November 30, 2006 carried out by TMC leaders who were then in the Opposition.

Speaker Biman Banerjee and parliamentary affairs minister Partha Chatterjee visited Leader of Opposition Abdul Mannan at a private hospital in EM Bypass to take stock of his health situation. Mr Mannan fell ill after the scuffle and alleged heckling inside the house on Wednesday. “He is keeping well. I have told him that the Assembly is not at its best when he is absent. I have wished him a speedy recovery and told him to join us all in the Assembly,” Mr Chatterjee said.

Mr Mannan was transferred to Apollo Gleneagles Hospitals on Thursday afternoon under the supervision of senior cardiologist Dr Suvro Banerjee. A temporary pacemaker was inserted on Wednesday to overcome his second degree heartblock. He is presently conscious, and doctors plan to implant a permanent pacemaker tomorrow,” a spokesperson of the hospital said.