Nothing untoward in gratis for K.M. Mani: Kerala Oppn

Thiruvananthapuram: Death is a leveller and strange are the ways that political parties behave. Eyebrows have been raised when an amount of Rs 5 crore was earmarked for K.M. Mani Foundation to construct a monument building, by Kerala Finance Minister Thomas Issac in his budget, that was presented on Friday.

Reacting to it was Leader of opposition Ramesh Chennithala, who on Saturday said there is nothing 'political' in it and its only natural that a political stalwart gets a fitting monument.

Mani's son and Rajya Sabha member Jose K. Mani on Saturday thanked Issac for the gratis.

Mani, a sitting legislator after having won for 52 years without ever losing a single election, and with an enviable record of presenting 13 budgets, two more than Issac, passed away last year.

Over the years since 2006, Issac and Mani alternated in the chair of Finance Minister, and inside the assembly it was always an interesting battle between the two, when it came to finances, with none willing to give away anything to the other.

By now the social media has also taken up the issue especially when Mani, after facing the heat from the Left following the bar scam had gone hammer and tongs, demanding his resignation and the assembly witnessed never before acrimonious scenes, forcing Mani in 2015 to place his budget speech on the table.

And eventually following an adverse remark from the Kerala High Court, Mani had to quit, leaving the CPI-M in a delirious mood and if there was one single point of campaign to the 2016 assembly elections, it was the bar scam and Mani, which gave the CPI-M led Left to a stunning victory.

Since the death of Mani, his party - the Kerala Congress (Mani) has split with one faction led by his son and the other by senior legislator P.J. Joseph and speculations, was there that, Jose is eyeing, a shift towards the Left and with the new gratis, it has become even more clearer.