The aggressive posturing of the Opposition UDF, including the attempts of members to force their way to the Speaker's podium, in seeming retaliation for certain comments made against Opposition Leader V D Satheesan by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Parliamentary Affairs Minister M B Rajesh led to pandemonium and disruption of the first functional day of the 12th Session of the Kerala Assembly on Monday.
Speaker A N Shamseer rushed through the day's proceedings and called the day off amid the anti-Pinarayi shouts of the UDF members.
However, in the chaos, it was the Chief Minister who scored a political win. Catching the UDF by surprise, the CM readily agreed to an adjournment motion it had moved on the crisis that had been precipitated by the CM's alleged comments to a national daily on Malappuram's gold and hawala links. By allowing the adjournment motion, the CM had agreed to suspend all other business of the day to conduct a detailed discussion on the Malappuram-PR issue. The UDF chickened out.
The Opposition was counting on the Speaker to reject their motion since the assumption was that Shamseer would not allow the motion to be even tabled as it had the potential to further damage the LDF government politically. The strategy was to then, after the speaker rejected the motion, to create an uproar, force the Speaker to call off the day and go to town with it.
But contrary to expectation, the Speaker allowed the motion and called the CM to make his opening statements. The CM straight-away said he was ready for a discussion, and the Speaker fixed 12 noon as the time for a three-hour discussion during which the UDF had the opportunity to corner the CM on the PR agency issue on which a convincing reply is yet to be offered.
Instead of calming down for the moment to strike later, the Opposition persisted with their slogan-shouting. At one point, the Watch and Ward staff had to form a thick cordon around the Speaker's dais to prevent the Opposition members from getting near the Speaker. Members like Mathew Kuzhalnadan and I C Balakrishnan, who tried to jump over the fence of the Speaker's dais, had to be physically pushed back. Parliamentary affairs minister M B Rajesh even mocked at the UDF members for attempting to avoid a discussion on the Malappuram issue.
The Chief Minister's decision to hold a discussion on an issue that had shown him up as a peddler of lies was risky. But there was an advantage. The CM would have the last word.
Had the motion been taken up and then rejected, as these motions usually are, the advantage is always with the Opposition leader. The last word rests with him. A leader with sharp, persuasive, and oratorical skills like Satheesan could have easily put the government on the mat.
Therefore, the CM's gamble of throwing himself open to vicious political attacks inside the Assembly in the hope that he would have the final say worked. With the CM getting the last word and, therefore, the advantage in the debate, the UDF suddenly developed cold feet. They seemed to have realised the futility of a discussion where the CM would not be subjected to any time constraints and would be allowed to take as much time as he wanted to make his point. But with this bold move, the CM has effectively laid the PR agency controversy to rest.
Pinarayi-Satheesan war of words
Nonetheless, the day's drama culminated only after some bitter personal exchanges between the Chief Minister and the Opposition leader.
It was the Chief Minister who fired the first salvo. This was after the Opposition Leader announced the boycott of the Question Hour and walked out with the UDF members in protest against the Speaker's decision to downgrade 49 priority questions submitted by UDF members on various issues like the ADGP-RSS links, criminalisation of the police, 'kafir' screenshot and the disappearance of businessman Mohammad Mami. The Speaker said he had merely used his discretion and also called these questions "local" in nature and, therefore, did not deserve 'star' status. The ministers orally reply, and take supplementary questions in the floor of the House, only for 'starred' questions. 'Unstarred' questions the government can shrug off with a written reply. In protest the UDF members stormed to the well of the House.
Even after the Opposition Leader got up to speak and asked the UDF members to get back to their seats, some members, like Kuzhalnadan, were still seen shouting slogans. "Who is the Opposition Leader here? There seems to be many," the Speaker remarked.
Provoked, Satheesan shot back at the Speaker saying it was a question no Speaker should have ever asked. He called it "immature". It was after the UDF members left the House that the Parliamentary Affairs minister made what sounded like a snide remark against the Opposition Leader. "Satheesan qualifies to be the most substandard Opposition Leader in the history of Kerala," Rajesh said. The CM did not want to be left behind. "Many a time Satheesan has demonstrated that he is an Opposition Leader of substandard quality. Now it looks like he has plumbed his lowest depths," the CM said.
After he returned to the House, Satheesan hit back. "When I was not in the House the Chief Minister made disparaging comments about me. He said I have become a substandard person," Satheesan said, and then, turning his gaze to the CM, he added: "I would have been terribly disappointed if you had said anything good about me. I pray daily. And one of the things that I pray for is that I should not become a corrupt and substandard person like you."
The CM was rattled. "It was when he crossed all limits and hurled abuses at you that I spoke about his inferior standard. And by these words he had once again emphasised what I said," the CM told the speaker. He continued: "He said he prays that he should not become a corrupt person. But the people of Kerala knows who Pinarayi is and who Satheesan is. No one will believe you if you say Pinarayi Vijayan is corrupt," the CM said.