Speaker A N Shamseer on Wednesday refused the UDF permission to even move an adjournment motion on a political fight inside a temple premises that had serious repercussions for police officers who had attempted to defuse a potentially volatile situation.

It was the police intervention in the alleged CPM-BJP clash within Manoli Kavu temple at Thalassery, Kannur, on February 20 and the subsequent transfer of two police officers that prompted the UDF to move the adjournment motion.

The Speaker rejected the motion right away. "The notice that I had received today related to a clash that broke out at a temple festival," he said. "Since this issue is not of an urgent nature or of any public importance, I cannot allow this motion under Rule 50," the Speaker ruled.

The rejection of the motion assumes significance because Shamseer is Thalassery MLA.

Nonetheless, he said that the issue could be taken up in the Assembly as a Submission and said he would even allow this as the first Submission. Opposition Leader V D Satheesan rejected the offer and staged a walk out.

But before he rejected the offer and walked out, Satheesan made a vain attempt at protest. "This is a very serious issue, with great public importance. Our motion is not about the temple festival but about the transfer of police officials," Satheesan said. The Speaker seemed impatient to move on. "Just make your point," he kept saying.

Infuriated, Satheesan said: "This is not fair. It is not the whims of your government that decide the topic for adjournment motions. How can you say this has no public importance," he said. The Speaker, eager to move on to the next business of the day, once again asked: "What's your point?." "It is wrong to block the discussion of issues that you find unpalatable. This is setting a wrong precedent for the Assembly. Here the issue is that certain people attacked the police and the police who suffered the attack have now been transferred," Satheesan said.

For added effect, he used a phrase Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had invariably used whenever his police was put in the dock. "This is about an issue that has destroyed the morale of the police," he said, and added: "Criminals decide who will be in the Thalassery Police Station."

The Speaker wanted an immediate an immediate closure. "Are you ready to move a Submission on this topic or not," he said. Satheesan demanded an adjournment motion. "Sorry. The issue has been disposed of," the Speaker said. Satheesan had no choice but to walk out in protest.

On February 20, the police became targets of political violence during the Manoli Kavu temple festival at Thiruvangad in Thalassery. Clashes between CPM and BJP workers led to police intervention, resulting in two FIRs. The first FIR named 27 CPM workers for assaulting four police officers who attempted to break up the fight.

The second one accused 60 CPM workers of assaulting and abusing Sub-Inspector Deepthi V V, who tried to arrest CPM worker Dipin, who was allegedly at the forefront of assaulting the four police officers. However, the CPM group allegedly blocked her, locked the temple gate, and forcibly took Dipin away. Police had made a few arrests in the case.

Later, allegedly at the insistence of local CPM leaders, Deepthi and another sub-inspector Akhil T K were transferred.