Speaker's reconciliation fails, Opposition disrupts House demanding action against CPM MLAs

Thiruvananthapuram: The Opposition distrust of Speaker A N Shamseer that led to an unprecedented and violent scuffle inside the Assembly on March 15 was still alive in almost the same intensity when the House reconvened on Thursday. For the first time this session, the Question Hour was also disrupted by some shrill Opposition sloganeering and the Speaker was forced to rush through the agenda of the day and wind up the day's proceedings within 15 minutes.

Even then, before the House disbanded, there was a minor exchange of words between the Speaker and Opposition Leader V D Satheesan.

Right at the outset, the Opposition Leader put forward his conditions for cooperation. One, action against two CPM MLAs - H Salam and Sachin Dev - and the deputy chief marshal of the Watch and Ward staff for allegedly attacking UDF legislators. Though he sought action against only two MLAs, Satheesan said four ruling party MLAs had attacked the UDF members. In fact Revolutionary Marxist Party MLA K K Rema, who had sustained a broken arm during the protests, had given a notice for an adjournment motion on the alleged brutality unleashed on UDF legislators in the Assembly on March 15.

Two, he wanted an assurance from the Speaker that the Opposition's right to move an adjournment motion would not be curtailed like in the preceding days. It was the Speaker's refusal to let the UDF even move an adjournment motion on the attack on a 16-year-old girl that precipitated the crisis on March 15.

The Speaker said he would give his ruling later but urged the Opposition to cooperate. Before he extended his hand of friendship, he also expressed his disappointment with the Opposition. "You conducted a mock adjournment motion in the floor of the House, complete with a Speaker and a Chief Minister. This has never happened before," the Speaker said. He was referring to the parallel adjournment motion the UDF MLAs staged after Congress MLA Roji M John's adjournment motion on the alleged police brutality against the UDF councillors of the Kochi Corporation.

The Speaker was also peeved that the UDF members were using wide banners to block his view. "I had asked you many times not to do it. I was only requesting, not forcing you to. But you did not listen," he said.

There was one more. He said the UDF MLAs had recorded visuals of the what happened inside the Assembly using mobile phones. "The technology is now advanced. We can even block the recording option in mobiles," he said.

To this, the Opposition Leader said the official Assembly channel, Sabha TV, was blocking out the speeches of UDF members. "It is functioning as the channel of the ruling party. Even when the Opposition Leader is speaking, the camera is trained on the faces of ministers," he said.

Clearly, the Speaker's attempt at reconciliation failed.