Oppn stages walkout over bribery charge on 'Desabhiman' DGM

Thiruvananthapuram, June 27 (UNI) The Congress-led Opposition staged a walkout in the Kerala Assembly today after Speaker K Radhakrishnan refused leave for an adjournment motion on the alleged bribe of Rs one crore received by Mr K Venugopal, Deputy General Manager of CPI(M) organ 'Desabhimani,' to settle a case involving a Kochi-based private financial institution.

Refusing leave for the motion sought to be moved by Mr V D Satheesan (Cong), the Speaker said the isssue related to a private individual and had no direct connection with the governmnet.

Leading the walkout, Opposition Leader Oommen Chandy described the incident as a clear case of corruption with connection to the higher-ups in the government.

Though the CPI(M) State Secretariat, in which Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan and Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan were members, had expelled Mr Venugopal from the paty, no case had been registered against him, Mr Chandy alleged and wanted a thorough discussion on the issue by suspending other business of the House.

The House witnessed noisy scenes when members from the Treasury benches objected to Mr Chandy speaking on an issue which the Speaker had rejected outright.

UNI