State assembly session set to begin tomorrow

Thiruvananthapuram: The second session of the 15th legislative assembly will begin on Thursday and will mainly focus on discussion and voting over the various subject committee reports on the demands for grants in 2021-22.
Speaker MB Rajesh said that the session will be convened for 20 days, in which four days will be set aside for private members’ business that includes private member bills and resolutions. One day each has been set apart for discussions on supplementary demands for grants for 2021-22 and finance appropriation bill.
The speaker said that time will have to be earmarked for legislation, if there is any, and the business advisory committee will meet and make appropriate decisions. The session will conclude on August 18.
With regard to the privileges of members (in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision on the assembly ruckus case being awaited), the speaker said privileges are given to members to discharge their duties and responsibilities without fear.
He also cited how the then Lok Sabha speaker Somnath Chatterjee refused to accept a notice from the Supreme Court when the matter regarding ouster of 11 MPs from the house was considered by the court, to point out that it is the discretion of the speaker to take a call on whatever has happened inside the house.
The speaker also said that a proper inquiry is warranted with regard to the Pegasus snoop-gate scandal. “The Supreme Court had ruled earlier that phone tapping is the violation of the rights ensured to the citizens by the Constitution. The court had ruled that as per the Article 21, which includes the right to live, tapping the phone is a violation of rights. It is also a violation of Article 19 (1) (a) as well. Under these circumstances, tapping phones is unthinkable in a democracy. An inquiry should be conducted into these, and truth should come out,” Rajesh said.