Thiruvananthapuram, February 24 The state Assembly passed the Kerala Finance Bill 2026 on Tuesday to implement the government's budget proposals, which aim to benefit nearly every household, from schoolchildren and working women to the most vulnerable.
With assembly elections just months away, the Pinarayi Vijayan government has also allocated ₹14,500 crore for welfare pensions in 2026-27.
The bill was taken up and passed with certain amendments suggested by the ruling front, without discussion, as the Congress-led UDF opposition was absent after boycotting the proceedings over the Sabarimala gold loss issue.
With the passage of the Finance Bill 2026 and approval of the demands for grants moved by various departments, the Assembly concluded its session.
The House expedited business scheduled for the next couple of weeks and completed it in a single day, in view of opposition protests.
Members had earlier demonstrated in the Assembly by holding placards and banners and raising slogans against the government over the Sabarimala issue.
Speaker A N Shamseer said that under the prevailing circumstances, it was not possible to conduct proceedings as per the calendar.
He said it was decided, after discussions with political leaders, to take up all demands for grants and legislative business scheduled for the coming days on the same day.
While moving the motion to take up and pass the Finance Bill 2026, state Finance Minister K N Balagopal criticised the opposition for not participating in the House proceedings and discussions.
A statement from the Speaker’s office said that the 15th Legislative Assembly, over its five-year term, held sittings for more than 1,100 hours across 204 days.
During this period, of the 195 government bills introduced, 168 were passed, while the others lapsed or were otherwise disposed of, the statement said.
It added that 18 notices to adjourn the House to discuss various issues were taken up during the session.
The Assembly also witnessed the disqualification of LDF MLA Antony Raju after he was convicted and sentenced to imprisonment in an evidence-tampering case, the statement said.
The session saw 69,086 notices admitted as questions, of which 5,160 were listed as starred questions and 62,882 as unstarred questions, making a total of 67,832 printed queries.
All urgent and starred questions have been answered, while 2,992 unstarred questions remain pending, the statement added.