THIRUVANANATHAPURAM: For other states, the Kerala Assembly might be a model when it comes to handling government business, but the current session which ends on Friday is not going to help that image in any way. Crying MLAs, assaults on Watch and Ward staff and other unsavoury televised scenes aside, the eventful second session of the 13th Kerala Assembly saw the Opposition staging walkouts in protest 18 times. More importantly, on 10 days the Opposition disrupted the proceedings forcing premature adjournment of the day’s business. On four days, the Opposition staged two walkouts each. All this, in a 25-day session where scheduled sittings were cancelled on three days following the death of Food and Civil Supplies Minister T M Jacob. But then, it was on a rowdy note that the current session opened on September 26. Day One saw the Opposition storming the well twice over the alleged UDF role in Judge P K Haneefa recusing himself from the palmolein case, forcing the Speaker to fast-forward the business and adjourn the House for the day. This repeated on nine more days over various issues. On October 14, 17 and 18, proceedings were halted over the attack on the Assembly Watch and Ward and the subsequent suspension of a tearful T V Rajesh and James Mathew. On October 10, business had to be prematurely wound up after an official allegedly gestured rudely from the gallery. On the last two occasions, remarks made by Forest Minister K B Ganesh Kumar and Chief Whip P C George provided ample ammo for the Opposition. Speaker G Karthikeyan said that he did not wish to comment as the Assembly was in session. Former Speaker and Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Vijayakumar said such a situation has been rare in the Kerala Assembly. “Both sides could have gone ahead with a little more understanding. The very fact that both sides are almost equal in strength demands a consensus on issues,’’ Vijayakumar said. Government Chief Whip George, in charge of co-ordinating government business, himself has been at the centre of most of the juicy controversies this season. But he roundly blamed the LDF for kicking up unwanted dust. ‘’They can’t accept Chandy is the Chief Minister now. They merely want to scuttle the government’s programme,’’ he alleged. In recent years, the Kerala Assembly has been at great pains to improve the conduct of business. M Vijayakumar had headed a committee that visited other legislatures and the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha for pointers. The report was approved, but reportedly it has yet to find meaningful implementation in the House.
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