The UDF on Thursday adopted the best possible course to sustain its agitation against what it calls the CPM's Sabarimala gold heist and at the same time thwart the LDF members from throwing dirt at Sonia Gandhi: Disrupt and boycott the day's Assembly proceedings. 

Opposition Leader V D Satheesan stood up right when Speaker A N Shamseer walked in for the day at 9 am sharp. The Speaker asked him to remain patient till he made obit references of six former MLAs.  After the references were made Satheesan got up in a flash and said that the UDF would not cooperate with the proceedings.

"We are in agitation mode," the Opposition Leader said. "It is in the light of the High Court findings that grave irregularities had taken place (in Sabarimala) during the 2024-25 period that we had demanded the resignation of Devaswom minister V N Vasavan. Along with this, we have also asked the government to end the pressure brought to bear upon the SIT (Special Investigation Team) by the Chief Minister's office," Satheesan said.

Before he could finish, the UDF MLAs trooped to the 'well' of the House shouting anti-government slogans and swarmed right below the raised podium of the Speaker. The sloganeering members then stretched a large banner across the Speaker's line of sight with the words from the parody song that had enraged the CPM. "Swarnam kattathu aarappa... Sakhakkalane Ayyappa" (Who stole the gold of Ayyappa... It's none other than comrades, Ayyappa.)

Normally, when there are politically relevant issues to be taken up, it is usual for the Opposition to move an adjournment motion to temporarily suspend Assembly proceedings to discuss the issue. But ever since the LDF woke up to the strategy of agreeing to any debate asked for and effectively denied the opposition leader his walk out speech in which he could lampoon the government and storm out, the adjournment motion had lost its value for the UDF. 

If the UDF had moved an adjournment motion on Vasavan's role in Sabarimala on Thursday, the last word on the issue would have been spoken by the minister. In other words, the LDF version would have emerged dominant, an outcome the UDF would scuttle in an election year even at the risk of death. 

Parliamentary affairs and excise minister M B Rajesh mocked them for this. "It is the opposition's right to move an adjournment motion under Rule 50 (of the Kerala Assembly Rules and Procedures). They did not have the guts to exercise their right and instead have resorted to unparliamentary methods. If they were confident, they should have been willing to debate the issue in the floor of the House," he said. 

The minister also gave a taste of what the UDF could have faced had they insisted on a discussion on the gold scandal by moving an adjournment motion. Pointing to the 'swarnam kattathu aarappa...' banner stretched across the Speaker's podium, Rajesh said: "This question should be ideally posed to UDF convenor Adoor Prakash. If you are not satisfied by the answer you can go to Delhi and ask Sonia Gandhi." 

As the UDF MLAs continued shouting, the Speaker went ahead with the business of the House. The first Calling Attention was by CPM MLA C K Hareendran about the restructuring of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme. Rajesh, who is also the local self government minister, found this a fertile topic to attack the Congress and indulge in some stinging innuendoes. "Before the BJP, it was the Congress party that had first tried to undermine MGNREGA. It was P Chidambaram who had first effected a major cut in MGNREGA allocation," he said. And then, scoffing at the UDF for shouting slogans when an important topic was sought to be discussed, said: "They are more interested in protecting another Gandhi, not Mahatma Gandhi."

General education minister V Sivankutty did not let sophistication stand in the way. Earlier, referring to the photograph in which Sonia Gandhi is seen with the prime accused Unnikrishnan Potty and two Congress MPs, Rajesh had remarked  that there was just one photograph available where the thief and the person who pocketed the loot could be seen in a single frame. Was he referring to Sonia Gandhi or any of the two Congress MPs Adoor Prakash and Anto Antony? It was not clear.

Sivankutty had no such confusions. "Sonia Gandhi should be arrested and interrogated. Her house should be raided. There is gold in her house," Sivankutty said. "And why are these people not uttering a word about who took Potty to Sonia Gandhi?" he said.

By this time, the LDF MLAs had also grouped at the edge of the 'well', bang opposite the UDF cluster, singing 'swarnam kattathu aarappa'. The LDF members, as if they were the competing choir, began to respond to the UDF's leading line. 'Swarnam kattathu aarappa'...' Shouting over the UDF's 'Sakhakkalane Ayyappa', the LDF choir would sing: 'Congressane Ayyappa". 

This soon became an 'anthakshari'-like game. If a North Indian family had strayed their way to the visitor's gallery of the Assembly, it would not have been a surprise if they at least for a moment thought this was a happy pre-wedding get-together.

This competitive singing did throw up some hilarious moments. For every Congress line, the LDF response would be 'Congressane Ayyappa'. At least twice the LDF 'singers' were caught off guard. UDF: 'Kadakampally aarappa?'. LDF: 'Congressane Ayyappa'. UDF: 'Swarnam kaakkunnatharappa' (who's protecting the Lord's gold?). LDF: 'Congressane Ayyappa'. 

Eventually, the speaker cut shot the proceedings and, following the Chief Minister's request, did away with the Assembly sitting tomorrow, January 23.

A bigger political gain for the UDF, besides limiting Sonia Gandhi references, was that by disrupting the day it could prevent the LDF members from delivering lengthy speeches on the government's achievements during the discussion on the Motion of Thanks to the Governor’s Address.