Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala Assembly will take up for discussion the first no-confidence motion against the Pinarayi Vijayan-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) government on Monday for five hours.
The Assembly session is being convened for a single day.
Minister for Parliamentary Affairs A K Balan held talks with opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala and Congress legislature party secretary K C Joseph and reached a consensus in this regard.
The opposition United Democratic Front (UDF) had sought more time and days for discussion on the no-confidence motion. However, Minister A K Balan pointed out that being in an air-conditioned room for long hours amid the COVID-19 pandemic could put the MLAs at risk of infection.
As many as 71 of the legislators are above the age of 60 and 41 of them are over 70. Balan has conveyed the decision to the Chief Minister and Speaker.
The session was initially planned to be held on July 27, but the government had deferred it, citing COVID-19 situation.
The session would begin at 9am with a condolence motion. The Finance Bill would be presented, followed by a resolution against handing over the Thiruvananthapuram airport to the Adani Group. There will be no discussion on these two.
After that, the no-confidence motion will be taken up for discussion. Congress leader V D Satheesan had given the notice for the no-confidence motion.
The opposition alleged that the CM's office was linked to the recent case of gold smuggling through diplomatic baggage and sought CM Pinarayi's resignation.
Reacting to this, CPM state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan said, "The no-confidence motion will suffer a humiliating defeat. We request the opposition members, who gave notice for the motion, to listen to the replies of CM and others, and leave only after casting their vote."
However, opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala said, "Since the ruling front has majority in the Assembly, the no-confidence motion might be defeated. But the public's ire would be reflected in the Assembly."
In the 140-member Assembly, the CPM-led LDF has 91 members, the Congress-led UDF 45, and the BJP and Independent have one each. Two seats are vacant.
The opposition had not agreed to the government's directive that the discussion should be completed by 1pm. Now, it has been agreed to wrap up the session by 3pm. The Assembly will not consider a motion, seeking the removal of the Speaker.
In the 140-member assembly, the CPI-M led Left Democratic Front (LDF) has 91 members, the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) 45 and the BJP and Independent have one each. Two seats are vacant.
RS election & Finance Bill
The Rajya Sabha byelection will also be held on Monday. The RS seat fell vacant after the demise of veteran socialist M P Veerendra Kumar on May 28.
Though the state Budget was presented in February, the Finance Bill 2020-21 could not be passed as the Assembly was adjourned on March 13 in the wake of the Coronavirus scare.
COVID-19 protocol in Assembly
This is the first Assembly session to be held after the COVID-19 outbreak. The Assembly complex and the adjacent areas have been disinfected and special seating arrangements made for the session. A medical team would conduct the rapid antigen tests on the members early in the morning on the day of the session.
• Seating arrangements in accordance to social distancing norms
• Each member's table to have sanitiser, mask, shield and gloves
• Thermal scanning of members before entering the Assembly complex
• Facility to conduct antigen tests at the assembly complex and MLA hostel in the morning
• Those who test positive for COVID-19 will be allowed to cast their vote in the Rajya Sabha election and leave
• Food packets to be distributed in the morning
• None will be allowed to enter the public gallery and speaker gallery
• Only necessary staff to be allowed in the official gallery
• Seating arrangements, adhering to social distancing norms, would be made in the press gallery and official gallery
• The attenders of those in the cabinet rank, other than the Chief Minister, Finance Minister, Parliamentary Affairs Minister and Opposition leader, will not be allowed to enter the assembly
• As electronic voting machines cannot be used, the members should either raise their hands or stand up to register their votes