Kochi: The first budget session of the newly elected UDF-led Kochi Corporation council was marked by high drama on Tuesday, as opposition councillors staged a fierce protest against the alleged leakage of budgetary figures to the media. Despite the intense friction and a sit-in protest in the well of the hall, Deputy Mayor and Finance Standing Committee Chairperson Deepak Joy proceeded with the budget presentation.

The controversy began on Monday, when the opposition Left Democratic Front (LDF) first petitioned the corporation secretary PS Shibu to postpone the session. They alleged that key figures had already surfaced in local newspapers, effectively stripping the council of its privilege to be the first to review the proposals.

The Tuesday session, which commenced at 10.30 am, was immediately met with resistance. LDF parliamentary party leader VA Sreejith raised a point of order, condemning the ‘leak” as an affront to the council's dignity. This triggered a significant debate over municipal law versus traditional practice. Mayor VK Minimol maintained that the presentation was strictly within legal bounds, citing Sections 287 and 293 of the Kerala Municipal Act. She argued that the statute contains no specific clause regarding budget secrecy and explained that the data became public due to the mandatory uploading of the finance committee's agenda onto the K-Smart portal.

At the Mayor's invitation, secretary Shibu addressed the floor to provide administrative clarity. He corroborated the Mayor’s reading of the Act, stating that while the written rules do not mandate secrecy, keeping figures confidential until the presentation is a “precedence” established by previous councils. The opposition was quick to challenge this, with Sreejith demanding to know if the Secretary was justifying the leakage. 

Shibu clarified that while the act wasn't technically illegal under the letter of the law, it could be considered a violation of long-standing tradition.

Unmoved by the administrative explanations, LDF councillors escalated their protest as the session progressed. Members descended into the well of the council hall, raising placards and shouting slogans that called for the Mayor to respect the municipal act rules. The atmosphere remained charged as the opposition sat in protest directly in front of the dais.

Ignoring the protest, Mayor Minimol invited the Deputy Mayor to begin his speech. Deepak Joy delivered the budget proposals for the upcoming fiscal year while the opposition continued their uproar just feet away. 

The administration continues to hold that the K-Smart digital portal makes the agenda public to all members, while the LDF maintains that technicalities should not override the sanctity of the presentation, pointing to a 2024 precedent where the same Act was used to block an LDF budget presentation by then deputy mayor KA Ansiya.