TRIVANDRUM: The budget session of the Kerala Assembly will start on Monday amidst growing protests against the move to shield ruling legislators booked for vandalising its podium when in opposition.

The Communist legislators had on March 13, 2015, prevented the Speaker from entering the podium, flung his chair, destroyed mics and attacked treasury benches to avoid finance minister KM Mani presenting the budget.

Those who attacked the dais included the present speaker P Sreeramakrishnan, finance minister Thomas Isaac, local self-government minister KT Jaleel and agriculture minister VS Sunil Kumar.

The then speaker, N Sakthan, had suspended Jaleel, EP Jayarajan, the industries minister who had to resign last year after nepotism charges, and four others then.

The police later booked them for destroying properties worth Rs 600,000, which the government is reportedly withdrawing.

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) leading the present ruling coalition, Left Democratic Front, had then accused Mani of taking bribes from hoteliers offering licenses to serve liquor.

Last week, it absolved him of charges saying the investigators failed to gather evidence and the two are now holding secret parleys on a possible tie-up ahead of next year’s national elections.

“We’ll oppose the move by all means,” said Ramesh Chennithala, the former home minister who now leads the opposition on the floor.

“That was a black day in the history of modern Kerala when the legislators unleashed hooliganism and attacked the sanctorum of democracy.”

V. Sivankutty, a former CPI-M legislator who hopped across the desks and protested until he fainted on the floor, said there couldn’t be two punishments for one act.

“The then Speaker who should have acted impartially functioned as a stooge of the government. He first suspended us and then a police case registered,” he told reporters here.

Meanwhile, the debt-stressed southern state has launched an ambitious project to build a network of 45,000 smart classrooms in state-funded schools.