Oppn UDF disrupts Kerala Assembly proceedings over Sabarimala gold plating row

Thiruvananthapuram, Oct 6 (PTI) The Kerala Assembly was adjourned on Monday following an intense protest by the opposition Congress-led UDF demanding the resignation of Devaswom Minister V N Vasavan over the gold plating row in Sabarimala Lord Ayyappa Temple..

Speaker A N Shamseer hurriedly completed other business and adjourned the House for the day as the UDF members continued their sloganeering, holding banners and placards at the well of the House after disrupting the Question Hour in the morning.

The opposition's continuing reluctance to cooperate with the House proceedings invited sharp remarks from both the Speaker and the Parliamentary Affairs and LSGD Minister M B Rajesh.

Rajesh said the UDF was afraid of discussing the matter in the House, and that is why they did not even give a notice for an adjournment motion over the present row related to the holy hill shrine.

Irked over the opposition MLAs trooping before his podium and raising the banner blocking his vision, the Speaker asked them, "On what grounds are you disrupting the House." When the session commenced at 9 AM on Monday as per the schedule, the Leader of the Opposition, V D Satheesan, raised the controversy over charges facing the Left-controlled Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB).

He sought the immediate resignation of Vasavan, saying the opposition was previously denied permission to raise the issue on the floor of the Assembly.

When the Speaker ignored the demand and proceeded with the Question Hour, UDF members stormed into the well of the House, raising slogans against the government.

They raised a banner in front of the Speaker's podium which read "those who have stolen gold of Lord Ayyappa are ambalam vizhungikal (temple thieves)." Despite repeated requests from Shamseer to return to their seats, the protest intensified, prompting ruling members, including some ministers, to stand up in response.

Later, the speaker suspended the session and left.

The House resumed at 10 am with Shamseer inviting the members for a calling-attention motion.

However, the UDF members intensified their sloganeering and raised a banner in front of the Speaker's podium.

Minister Rajesh, who intervened, accused the opposition members of running away from discussion on the matter by disrupting the House.

"Ours is a government which has the confidence, courage and democratic consciousness to take up any matter for discussion. The Opposition is running away from the debate out of fear," he alleged.

Terming the UDF protest a "cowardly act", he said the present session had witnessed debate on various topics on four out of six days so far.

Minister P Rajeev also slammed the UDF protest and said it was a challenge to the people of the state.

Education Minister V Sivankutty's remarks against the protest triggered some war of words in the House for some time.

Amidst the uproar, some bills were referred to the subject committee.

The speaker later announced that the House was being adjourned for the day and would convene on Tuesday morning.

The opposition protest in the Assembly came in the wake of an ongoing controversy over the gold-plating of Dwarapalaka idols in Sabarimala.

Unnikrishnan Potty, a Bengaluru-based businessman, had sponsored the gold plating of the Dwarapalaka idols and taken them to Chennai in 2019.

The Kerala High Court recently ordered an investigation after a Dwarapalaka peedam (pedestal) was recovered from the house of a relative of Potty by the Devaswom vigilance wing. This followed his claim that the pedestal had gone missing from Sabarimala.

There were also allegations of a decrease in the gold at Sabarimala since 1998, when industrialist Vijay Mallya sponsored the plating of the sanctum sanctorum.

The Congress and BJP have raised allegations against the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) concerning this matter and have been demanding for a CBI probe into the matter. PTI LGK SA