The Kerala high court last week stayed the appointment of a judicial commission by the state government to probe whether Enforcement Directorate officials pressured any of the accused in the gold smuggling case to implicate chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan. Justice P B Suresh Kumar stayed the May 7 notification appointing the commission of inquiry in response to a petition filed by the ED. The judge observed that a parallel inquiry against a central agency would affect the ongoing probe into the use of diplomatic channels to smuggle gold and aid the accused. He said the court would hear the case in detail later. The high court had earlier quashed FIRs registered by the state police. The stay on a judicial commission to investigate the ED's handling of the case is seen as a setback for the LDF government, which has all along attributed political motives to the gold smuggling probe.
TN govt presents exclusive farm budget
In sync with its poll promise, the DMK government presented a budget in the Tamil Nadu Assembly exclusively for agriculture featuring schemes for the overall development of the farm sector, including one for self-sufficiency and farm growth in villages. Presenting the budget, Minister for agriculture and farmer's welfare, MRK Panneerselvam said the views of farmers and experts were sought and the budget was prepared based on their views. "The agriculture budget is the aspiration of farmers. It is a dream of nature lovers." This is the first time a separate budget for agriculture is presented in Tamil Nadu. During 2021-22, £3.42 is provided for agriculture and related departments like animal husbandry, fisheries, dairy development, irrigation, rural development, sericulture and forest, he said.
