The occasion was the inaugural session of the 81st annual conference of the Indian Economic Association here on Saturday. After urging economists to guide the policy-makers of the country, (Gowda also released the conference souvenir - Artha Samriti - while Patel gave away awards to a few economists), both distinguished political leaders walked out of the venue, apparently unaware that Conference President G S Monga was yet to speak.This angered the delegates (who were also present on the stage) to protest aloud.

``This is improper behaviour on their part. We have come to hear our president, not Deve Gowda or Patel,'' an angry delegate said. Some of them said that such a thing was happening for the second time.

The delegates were also angry at the slip-shod arrangements and the fact that they waited for 30 minutes for the (10.30 a.m.)function to begin. ``Our president was not even given a chair similar to the ones that the politicians were seated on. This is an insult,'' the angry delegates said.

Monga, who was waiting for tempers to cool down, gave his presidential address on `Benevolent Reforms - Waiting for Wage Goods' after a member of the audience remarked: ``Manmohan Singh (former Finance Minister) presented his budget in an even more noisy atmosphere, so why don't you begin''.