CHENNAI: A controversy erupted on Saturday after Tamil Nadu agriculture minister R Vinoth offered prayers at the Tirumala Venkateswara Temple holding an “agriculture budget document.” Vinoth is to present TVK govt’s maiden agricultural budget in the Tamil Nadu assembly on Aug 6. Holding the document in his hands, the minister told reporters outside the temple that he had sought the deity’s blessings before presenting the budget, triggering questions over whether confidential budget papers had been taken outside the state before being tabled in the assembly.However, Vinoth told TOI that the document in his possession was only the “budget preface and not the complete budget document.” “It is not the complete budget document. The final budget papers are with the department secretary. What I carried was only the preface containing some highlights of the agriculture budget, which will be presented to the chief minister (C Joseph Vijay),” Vinoth told TOI.Rejecting allegations of impropriety, the minister said there was no question of seeking the views of cabinet colleagues or senior bureaucrats as the document was only a draft preface. “Those who want to create a controversy will continue to do so regardless of my explanation. My focus is only on presenting the budget successfully. At present, I am going through the PDF of the budget document,” he said.A senior bureaucrat, however, said budget-related documents are generally treated as confidential until they are tabled in the legislature. “The speaker will decide whether this amounts to a breach of privilege or not. But budget papers are govt documents and are not expected to be in the public domain before being presented in the House,” the official said.The episode drew criticism not only from the opposition but also from the CPM, which extends outside support to the Vijay-led govt. Madurai MP Su Venkatesan termed the minister’s action “unconstitutional,” saying budget documents were constitutional and political instruments explaining how taxpayers’ money would be spent. It should not be turned into offerings reflecting individual religious beliefs, he said.CPI state secretary M Veerapandian also disapproved of the minister carrying the document to the temple. AIADMK attacked the TVK govt and its minister, calling it a serious violation of the assembly convention. The party’s IT wing asked why an untabled budget document had been taken outside Tamil Nadu. It wanted to know whether the speaker would initiate action on what it called the breach of assembly rules.
