Pinarayi's mischievous remark on Fisheries Minister's 'capability' angers UDF

What began as a complaint against the UDF government's alleged failure to distribute off-season assistance to fisherfolk was, after a point, turned into a fierce debate on whether opposition leader Pinarayi Vijayan was slyly implying that fisheries minister V E Abdul Gafoor was worthless.

The occasion was the adjournment motion moved by former fisheries minister Saji Cherian in the Assembly on Tuesday. The CPM leader's primary charge was that the government had failed to distribute the assistance provided to fisherfolk under the Sampadya Samashwasa Project (Savings-cum-Relief Scheme) during the 52-day trawling ban, when the fisherfolk would be out of work.

Cherian called this alleged failure to pay the assistance as "grave neglect" and "betrayal of the fishing community".

The assistance per person is ₹500 and it is made up of the equal contribution (₹1,500) of the beneficiary, the state government and the centre. The former minister also said that the LDF government had raised the amount to ₹6,000.

Fisheries minister Gafoor said that the beneficiary contribution that had been collected had already been transferred to the district fisheries offices for distribution on June 10 itself. "The state's and the centre's share would be paid during the July and August months, as is usually done," the minister said.

He ridiculed Cherian's claim that the assistance has been increased to ₹6,000. "After ruling Kerala for 10 years, it was only this March, on the eve of elections, that you increased the amount to ₹6,000," the minister said. Also, Gafoor said that the decision was taken without even ascertaining whether the Centre would agree to pay ₹2,000 as its share.

"The state, in addition to increasing its share, will have to bear the additional ₹500 that the Centre has to provide as its share," Gafoor said, suggesting that at the moment the assistance would be ₹4,500.

Saji Cherian, while moving his motion, had also remarked that under Oommen Chandy, the off-season assistance was only ₹2,700. At this point, forest minister Shibu Baby John, who was a minister in the Oommen Chandy Cabinet, raised his hand wanting to make a point. Since Cherian refused to yield, John could not intervene.

But after Gafoor made his argument against the LDF claim of increasing the assistance, the forest minister sought permission from his colleague and got up to make his point. For any other member to intervene during a speech in the Assembly, the member who is making the speech should sit down, which in legislature parlance is called 'yielding".

Speaker Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan objected to Shibu Baby John butting in, but the forest minister said his colleague had "yielded".

"You sounded very eloquent about increasing the assistance to ₹4,500 from ₹2,700," John told Cherian. "But you did it by stopping the assistance of ₹1,350 the Oommen Chandy government was providing fisherfolk under the Thanal Project," the forest minister said.

Later, when Opposition Leader Pinarayi Vijayan got up to make his walkout speech, it was the forest minister's intervention, and not the UDF's alleged neglect of fisherfolk, that he employed to embarrass the Satheesan government.

"At one stage, while the fisheries minister was replying, another minister intervened," Pinarayi said, as if such a practice was unheard of. "Even you allowed it," he told the Speaker. "He (Shibu Baby John) interfered in such a way that it looked like the fisheries minister lacked the ability to respond to questions in the Assembly," Pinarayi said.

The Speaker was quick to politely admonish Pinarayi. "A person of your stature should not say such things," the Speaker said. There was an eruption of anger on the ruling side.

"I was not saying that the minister did not have the goods. What I was trying to say was that an attempt was made to give the impression that the fisheries minister was devoid of talent," Pinarayi said, clearly enjoying the irritation he had caused the other side. "It was not me but you (the ruling side) who insulted the minister. It is wrong to establish that a minister is not good enough," Pinarayi said.

Stung, Chief Minister V D Satheesan got up. "When you were on this side, there were many instances when the Parliamentary (M B Rajesh) and Law (P Rajeeve) ministers had intervened when other ministers were speaking. It is there on record," Satheesan said. The CM sounded so livid that he wanted Pinarayi's remarks to be expunged from Assembly records.

"But that was different," Pinarayi said. "If at all they had talked, it was after a speech had concluded and not in between, like it happened today," he said.

Pinarayi let the issue rest only after expressing mock concern for Gafoor. "Just because he is a new minister does not mean that a person who had been a minister before should create the impression that the debutant was not up to the mark," Pinarayi said. The UDF side chose to ignore this sarcasm, forcing Pinarayi to get back to the plight of the coastal folk.