Last Assembly session before 2025 local body polls begins today

The 14th Session of the 15th Kerala Assembly, the last session before this year's local body polls, will begin today. Though the session will end only on October 10, the Assembly will sit only for 12 days, and the first day would be dedicated solely for obit references.

The session is expected to be a tumultuous one, with a major election on the horizon. More than the usual share of disruptions is anticipated.

Speaker A N Shamseer, while formally announcing the dates of the session to the media on Sunday, said that the Session had been called exclusively for law-making. "Nine of the 12 days will be set apart for law-making," he said. Given the fraught political climate, it looks like most of the Bills would be passed without discussion.

Tit for tat session
This is the moment the Opposition will snatch to set the political agenda for the coming polls and the ruling front, rather than be seen as desperately fending off these charges, will do all it can to structure the political debate around the subjects of its choosing; it could be the self-destructive turf wars within the Congress in the Rahul Mamkoottathil issue, for instance, or it could be the allegedly shocking betrayals of its own people by the Congress party, reflected in the suicide of Jose Neeledam and the attempted suicide of Padmaja Vijesh, the daughter-in-law of former DCC treasurer N M Vijayan in North Kerala.

However, because of the legislative mechanism called the 'adjournment motion', it is easy for the opposition to bring up fresh issues against the ruling side every day. The adjournment motion is a tool in the hands of the Opposition to force daily discussions on issues of "urgent public importance" in the Assembly. 

The second Pinarayi ministry has consistently been troubled by such a legislative weapon in the hands of a sharp, studied and highly eloquent opposition leader like V D Satheesan.

Police, health and education
Custodial torture, and by extension the human rights violations of the police force under Pinarayi Vijayan, will animate this session. It was only recently that three KSU activists were produced before the court in the most unprecedented manner: in handcuffs and with their faces covered in black cloths, as if they were terrorists, rapists, or murderers. 

The health sector will be put under the scanner. Nearly 20 lakh fever cases have been reported this year. Chikungunya, Hepatitis-A, mumps, influenza and chicken pox are sweeping across the state. There are 17 deaths from amoebic meningoencephalitis.

Answers will be sought from the Higher Education sector, too. The teething troubles of the four-year degree courses will be put under the microscope and enhanced for maximum political embarrassment. Any discussion on the Higher Education sector is an excuse for the UDF to drag in Governor Rajendra Arlekar and question the government's unresolved equation with him.

The UDF is certain to spotlight what it terms the Chief Minister's "coy" attitude towards the Governor.

Rahul factor
As it stands, it is not clear whether Rahul Mamkoottathil will attend the session.

The Palakkad MLA, however, has been allotted a new seat. It will be on the left of the last UDF MLA, the Speaker said. He also said that he had received a letter from the Leader of the Opposition on September 12 informing him that Rahul had been suspended from the Congress Parliamentary Party. In the letter, Satheesan had requested the Speaker to seat Rahul separately from the Opposition block.

Now that Rahul is not part of the UDF block, it remains to be seen if the opposition side would raise even a murmur of protest if the ruling benches try to heckle or even prevent Rahul from entering the House.

Bills that will be taken up
Speaker A N Shamseer said that four bills were certain to be taken up during this session. He said that there are 13 more bills that could come up. "This would be finalised by the Business Advisory Committee," the Speaker said. 

At this stage, therefore, it is not clear whether the politically significant bills like the Wildlife Protection (Amendment) Bill, 2025, which empowers the chief wildlife warden to order the killing of dangerous schedule I animals like elephant and tiger, and the Kerala Forest (Amendment) Bill, 2025, which allows sandal farmers to sell their wood, would come up during this session. The drafts of both these bills were given cabinet nod on September 13.   

The four bills that would come up are: Kerala State Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) Act, 2024; Kerala Guruvayur Devaswom (Amendment) Bill, 2025; Kerala Coir Workers' Welfare Cess (Amendment) Bill, 2025; and Kerala Cooperatives Registration Bill, 2025.