Thiruvananthapuram: Speaker A N Shamseer's combative move to deny yet another adjournment motion moved by the UDF led to unprecedented scenes of violence just outside the Assembly hall, and right in front of the Speaker's office, on Wednesday.
UDF legislators who had massed in front of the Speaker's office, which is right across a small corridor at the back of the Speaker's office, were removed by the Watch and Ward staff. The UDF members had planned to block the Speaker's entry into his office. They sat in front of the office shouting slogans and when the Speaker came out after quickly winding up the day's proceedings, they blocked his way.
By then the LDF members had also arrived. What followed was pandemonium, with the rulling and opposition members on either side and the Watch and Ward staff in between. After a prolonged struggle, the Speaker managed to squeeze into his office with the help of the W&W staff and the aggressive young LDF legislators. Many UDF legislators like M Vincent, Saji Joseph, A K M Ashraf were seen forcibly carried away, each by two or three W&W staff, and moved a bit away from the Speaker's office. The displaced UDF MLAs looked rattled and were sweating. The scuffle was so intense and happened in a small cramped space that Congress MLA Saneesh Kumar Joseph fell unconscious. He was quickly removed to the doctor's cabin in the floor but since the physician was not there he was rushed to a nearby hospital.
It was Uma Thomas who moved the adjournment motion and the issue was the public brutality on a 16-year-old school girl at Chenkottukonam in Thiruvananthapuram. The Speaker said the issue did not have immediate relevance and denied Uma permission to even move the motion.
This time the Speaker completely avoided the Opposition. He did not even allow Opposition Leader V D Satheesan to make a brief walk out comment. The Opposition members walked out shouting, and apparently in disbelief. Congress MLA Roji M John was seen climbing the Speaker's podium and shouting at him. "Show some spine. Don't be Pinarayi's slave," he yelled at the Speaker.
After the UDF left, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan could read out his resolution on Brahmapuram fire, in which he debunked all UDF allegations, without a murmur of protest.
