Mallikarjun Kharge attacks govt for proceeding with Budget 2017

New Delhi: Congress leader and Lok Sabha Opposition leader Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday demanded the Union Budget be postponed after senior Kerala MP E Ahamed died here today hours after suffering a severe cardiac arrest in the Parliament on Tuesday.

Speaking to the media, Kharge said, Congress, including Janata Dal (United) leaders and former PM and Janata Dal (Secular) leader Deve Gowda are of the view that the Budget should be postponed, following the IUML MP's death.

Demanding postponement of the Budget, JD(S) leader said, "Postponement of the Budget will be no big deal, it's not as if secrecy will break."

Ahamed, a former Minister in the UPA government and a long-time IUML MP from Kerala, was admitted to RML after he fell unconscious in Parliament's Central Hall on Tuesday during President Pranab Mukherjee's address.

The 78-year-old leader served as Minister of State for External Affairs in the UPA government and has been a Lok Sabha member from Malappuram in Kerala since 1991.

Meanwhile, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said the government will present the Budget today itself.

Watch me live presenting the Union Budget 2017 at 11 am, February 1, 2017 https://t.co/BtQAlBf8Zz — Arun Jaitley (@arunjaitley) February 1, 2017