Opposition, Kerala government trade charges in House

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The government and the opposition were involved in a heated exchange in the House on Thursday over the Supreme Court’s verdict in the assembly ruckus case.
Chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who cited previous instances of disruptions in assemblies in various states, argued that dragging the matters inside the house to the court would only set a wrong precedence,while the opposition countered that all such matters have been considered by the court before it reached its conclusion. Opposition leader V D Satheesan said the CM’s stand amounted to challenging the court’s verdict.
Vijayan cited as many as 12 incidents of ruckus in various legislative assemblies in the country, and argued that in none of the cases the matter was dragged outside the house for the consideration of the criminal justice system. The issues were settled inside the houses, he said.
The UDF has tried to introduce certain practices never heard before, he said, adding, “The government is trying to uphold the privileges of the members of the house. Attempts to withdraw cases in such matters is not new.”
He said opposition’s view that the general policy taken by all other legislative assemblies need not be made applicable to Kerala legislative assembly will only help in demeaning the dignity of the House. Satheesan said the CM should demand minister V Sivankutty’s resignation on moral grounds and for the sake of democratic values. It is ‘illegal’ for him to justify a case that the Supreme Court has refused to accept, he said. “The chief minister is questioning the court’s judgement. He is commenting as if he is not satisfied with the verdict and the matter should be referred to a full bench,” Satheesan said.
Citing the cases of former forests minister K P Viswanathan and former finance minister K M Mani, the opposition leader said both of them had resigned not because verdicts were issued against them. In the case of Sivankutty, the court has asked him to face trial, he said.
Satheesan further said the Constitution provides the privilege to the members only for speaking without fear and to vote inside the assembly. He said such a privilege should not be mistaken for a licence to indulge in criminal activities.
“Anyone who commits a crime should face trial. Else, the trust in the judicial system will be lost. The government went to quash the proceedings in the case for damaging public properties, again by using public money. In fact, the expenses for the case should be borne by the political party and not the government,” he said.
The opposition members raised slogans demanding the minister’s resignation inside the house after speaker M B Rajesh refused permission for an adjournment motion based on the CM’s explanation. The opposition boycotted the proceedings for the day and staged a protest in the main entrance of the assembly complex.