Speaker-Opposition Leader spar as UDF attempts to disrupt Assembly over Sabarimala

Thiruvananthapuram: With the Assembly elections around the corner, both the LDF and the UDF are involved in competitive messaging in the Sabarimala gold loot.

The outcome of this confrontational posturing on Tuesday was UDF-induced disorder that threatened to escalate into violence with the 'watch and ward' staff in the House, but was twice neutralised by Speaker A N Shamseer in the nick of time.

The UDF wanted to disrupt the House in the Sabarimala issue, hoping to send out two messages. One, the LDF government was hell-bent on protecting the looters. Two, it was the only political formation in Kerala that stood by the faithful. Speaker A N Shamseer, on the other hand, was determined to conduct business.

Right at the start of the day, without even waiting for the Question Hour to play out, Opposition Leader V D Satheesan declared non-cooperation, and UDF MLAs trooped to the well of the House shouting slogans and holding placards. They lined up around the wooden railings of the Speaker's raised platform and stretched a large banner right across the Speaker's field of vision, a clear attempt to instigate the Speaker into cutting short the day's proceedings.

The Speaker had no such intention. He had deployed the 'watch and ward' staff tightly around the UDF MLAs, and continued with the Question Hour.

All of a sudden, Congress MLA Anvar Sadath attempted to clamber over the wooden railing that protected the Speaker's chair. Before Sadath could fall over to his side, Shamseer got up and walked out. Proceedings were temporarily halted, and the protestors retreated to their seats for small talk.

When the Speaker returned 15 minutes later, the House resumed with a sharp and provocative counter by law and parliamentary affairs minister P Rajeeve. He quoted the High Court division bench orders to argue that the Opposition was deliberately creating a false narrative in the Sabarimala issue. Rajeeve said that the HC itself had said that the officers of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) had unquestionable integrity and skills.

The minister said that the court had also questioned the opposition charge that the Chief Minister's office was trying to impose two officers on the SIT. He quoted the HC as saying that "certain quarters" had raised objections against the appointment of "competent, trustworthy and industrious" officers. "The 'certain quarters' was a reference to the Opposition Leader," Rajeeve said. He even alleged that the prime accused, Unnikrishnan Potty, was used by the UDF to undermine the success of the Global Ayyappa Sangamam.

Rajeeve's speech provoked greater unrest on the UDF side, and this time Sadath somehow pulled himself up onto the Speaker's platform, causing the 'watch and ward' staff to subdue him and keep him down in the narrow space between the wooden railings and the Speaker's desk.

While this scrimmage was going on, Congress's Mathew Kuzhalnadan, too, was seen pulling himself up over the wooden railing. More watch and ward staff rushed forward. But before Kuzhalnadan could muscle himself over the wooden railings, the Speaker once again walked out, suspending proceedings for a second time. Kuzhalnadan fell over into the Speaker's platform, pulled up Sadath, who was down on the floor and together walked down the Speaker's platform to their seats.

The Speaker returned 10 minutes later. Before he allowed proceedings to resume, Shamseer told the Opposition that the Speaker, too, had rights like the Opposition. "By stretching a banner in front of me, you have rendered the Speaker blind," he said.

Just when he ordered the resumption of proceedings, the Opposition Leader sought permission to talk. He said that the High Court had specifically stated that there was laxity on the part of the SIT. "The High Court has said that the accused in the case were getting bail because the SIT had failed to submit a chargesheet," Satheesan said. According to the court, what stands in the way is the delay in collecting material evidence and also the delay in getting the results of the scientific tests, Satheesan said.

"Our charge is that the delay is the result of the pressure mounted on the SIT by the Chief Minister's office," he said and added, "We are concerned that the looters will eventually go scot free."

Saying this, Satheesan declared a complete boycott of the Assembly proceedings and was about to walk out with his members when the Speaker sought the Opposition Leader's attention.

Speaker: Democratic rights are not for the Opposition alone. A Speaker, too, has rights. You should introspect whether it is a fair democratic practice to cover a Speaker's face and make him like a blind man.

Opposition leader: This is not the first time banners are used in a protest inside the Assembly. There are precedents for how speakers have dealt with such situations. When any major conflict erupted in the House, all the speakers who had adorned this Chair before you had stopped the proceedings and called leaders from both sides to the Speaker's chamber for a discussion. You have never done this.

Speaker: But I have not encountered any such major conflicts in this House.

Before the Speaker finished his sentence, Satheesan walked out with his team. He ignored the Speaker's request to listen to the Chief Minister's reply.

Over the taunting slogans of the walking-out UDF members, the Chief Minister said that the High Court observations Satheesan referred to was made by a single bench and not the division bench that was supervising the investigation. "The single bench judge made an observation that came to his mind. But as I have said earlier, it was not against the government but against the High Court itself. Because the investigation is not done under the directions of the government but on the orders of the High Court," the Chief Minister said.

The CM then drew the attention of the Speaker to what he termed the "unfortunate incidents" that occurred earlier in the day. He alleged that the UDF MLAs had used the wooden sticks at the ends of the large banner that covered the Speaker's field of vision to poke and beat the watch and ward staff.

The Speaker, however, did not respond. It was just a couple of minutes before that he said that no major event had happened in the Assembly.