Thiruvananthapuram: After a three-day recess, the Kerala Legislative Assembly reconvened on Tuesday amid renewed confrontation between the treasury and the opposition, with the Sabarimala gold heist once again dominating proceedings.
The protesters are demanding the resignation of the Devaswom Minister V.N. Vasavan as two opposition legislators, Najeeb Kanthapuram and C.R. Mahesh, began a sit-in protest at the entrance of the Assembly hall.
Leader of Opposition V.D. Satheesan opened the debate by reiterating allegations of interference by the Chief Minister’s Office in the functioning of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the case.
Terming the issue a serious breach of institutional integrity, Satheesan announced that the opposition would intensify its protest.
Maintaining that the opposition’s agitation over the Sabarimala gold heist would continue, Satheesan reiterated the demand for the resignation of the Devaswom Minister, holding him politically accountable for the controversy.
At the same time, he sought to underline that the protest would not disrupt legislative business, clarifying that the opposition would cooperate with the proceedings of the House even as the agitation carried on outside.
Kanthapuram and Mahesh were named as the two MLAs who would sit on the satyagraha, symbolically escalating the protest while attempting to strike a balance between dissent and parliamentary functioning.
Responding sharply to the opposition’s allegations, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan dismissed the protest as misplaced, arguing that the agitation was not effectively against the government but amounted to a challenge to the High Court itself.
He pointed out that the investigation into the gold heist was being conducted under the supervision of the High Court, and any insinuation of interference undermined the judicial process.
Adding a dramatic flourish to the issue, the opposition continued its unconventional form of protest inside the House by breaking into a parody song, a political satire that has already gained wide traction on social media and outside the legislature.
The singing session, which briefly disrupted proceedings, underscored the increasingly theatrical nature of the standoff, as the gold heist issue once again pushed the Assembly into high-decibel political theatre.
(IANS)
