Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala Assembly on Monday disintegrated into pandemonium after Opposition Leader V D Satheesan sought to respond to an indignant poser hurled by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
"On what basis did the Opposition say that the Home Department is ruled by a secretive syndicate," the Chief Minister wanted to know while he was responding to an adjournment motion on the sexual abuse of an 8-year girl in Aluva.
"The Opposition should not use political propaganda to humiliate an entire state," the Chief Minister said. He also added that people who said so "possessed a certain special mental state".
When his turn came, the Opposition Leader said that he had indeed made the comment that the Kerala police had been "hijacked" by a secretive syndicate. "To doubt the mental state of anyone criticising the functioning of the police is another disease. It is this special mental state that requires treatment," he said.
Then, Satheesan began to elaborate why he said the police was hijacked by a "secretive syndicate". "The police indulges in dual justice," he said, referring to selective action.
"Your police registered a case against Sathiamma, a sweeper earning not more than Rs 8000, just because she said good things about Oommen Chandy," the Opposition Leader said. By then the ruling benches were restless.
"Your police cupped the face of 94-year-old GROW Vasu when he tried to raise slogans in court. Isn't this a communist government? Aren't yours a revolutionary party? Didn't you people come up raising slogans? Now your police is covering the face of a 94-year-old man to prevent him from raising slogans," Satheesan said.
The ruling side was up on their feet. It looked like revenue minister K Rajan and animal husbandry minister J Chinchurani wanted to make a point. Satheesan said he would yield later, after making his point.
The Opposition Leader is not in the habit of yielding to the ruling benches but on Tuesday he said he would, after he completed his point.
The ruling benches by now massed together in the middle and urged Speaker A N Shamseer to let the ministers talk. Since Satheesan refused to sit and let the ministers talk, the speaker had no choice but to ask the ministers and the shouting ruling MLAs to take their seats. They refused to listen to the Speaker for nearly two minutes.
Finally, when the Opposition Leader spoke, he pointed out that the ministers began talking even while he was making his point. "Just before, when Ramesh Chennithala wanted to make a point while Chief Minister was talking, wasn't he told to wait till a point was made. But here, the ministers started talking while I was still speaking," Satheesan said.
This caused another round of uproar. The Speaker had a tough time controlling the House, especially the ruling party members who were still massed at the Centre of the aisle.
When he resumed, after the Speaker established a modicum of calm, the Opposition Leader turned even more provocative. "When a ruling party MLA intervened in a POCSO case, he was demoted in the party. But no police action was taken. The party has turned itself into the police station and the court. The official police hierarchy has been decimated," Satheesan said. All hell broke loose.
Realising that the ruling benches will not let him continue, Satheesan made a quick walk-out speech and he and other Congress MLAs trooped out.
As they were leaving, there was another provocation from the ruling side. Minister Chinchurani spoke when it was the turn of Muslim League's P K Kunhalikutty to deliver his walk-out speech. The Minister said that a case was registered against Sathiamma for impersonation, not as part of any vendetta.
"The Opposition Leader was speaking about impersonation. The Animal Husbandry Department has not recruited any such person," the minister said.
Congress MLAs, who were on their way out, and the League MLAs, too, rushed towards the Speaker's podium, protesting vigorously. The Speaker insisted that Kunhalikutty had consented. "Why do you make noise when the deputy leader (Kunhalikutty) agreed to let the minister speak," he said. Still, the Congress and even the League MLAs were unrelenting.
After the din settled, Kunhalikutty sounded aggrieved. "I don't know what the fuss is all about. It was my chance to speak. Wouldn't it have been better if the minister was given the chance after my turn. Why are you being so adamant for such small things," he said, virtually contradicting the Speaker's claim that he had agreed to let the minister speak.
As it turned out, the Speaker, too, requested Kunhalikutty to let the minister make her "clarification" before resuming his speech. "There should be someone to listen to the minister's version," Shamseer reasoned.
This time, Kunhalikutty staged a walk out.
In the melee, serious issues related to the Aluva sexual abuse - regular police patrol, crime database, force strength, deployment of police for VIP duty (the day the incident happened, the Chief Minister was in Aluva) - were drowned.
