E-Paper
Ruckus in House as UDF rakes up threats to Rahul
Protests erupted in the Kerala Assembly as UDF MLAs opposed the Speaker's dismissal of a motion regarding BJP threats against Rahul Gandhi, leading to adjournment.
Stormy protests erupted in the Kerala Assembly on Tuesday by the opposition UDF MLAs over the Speaker’s refusal to admit their adjournment motion on a BJP spokesperson’s death threats against Rahul Gandhi, resulting in the proceedings being adjourned for the day.
The notice for an adjournment motion was moved by Peravoor MLA and Congress state chief Sunny Joseph, pointing to the remarks made by BJP spokesperson Printu Mahadevan recently during a live television debate against Lok Sabha Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi.
During a debate on the recent Nepal protests, Mahadevan had claimed that such protests were not possible in India as the people stood strongly with PM Narendra Modi. However, if Gandhi had such desires, ‘bullets would pierce his chest’, he had said.
While Mahadevan has been booked by the Peramangalam police in Thrissur on the complaint of a Congress leader, Joseph alleged that he has not been arrested yet by the police. The Congress MLA said he was moving the adjournment motion to demand an answer from the state’s home minister on why the BJP spokesperson was being shielded by the police.
However, Speaker AN Shamseer dismissed the motion outright, stating that it was neither urgent nor important to warrant a full-scale discussion in the House by suspending all its proceedings. He said someone making such remarks on a TV channel debate does not warrant suspending Assembly proceedings.
Subsequently, UDF MLAs trooped into the well of the House, raising slogans and banners against the LDF government and the Speaker. Dismissing the protests, the Speaker continued to conduct House proceedings for a few minutes by taking up legislative work. However, the opposition MLAs refusing to go back to their seats forced the Speaker to ultimately adjourn proceedings for the day.
Leader of the Opposition VD Satheesan alleged that the LDF government under Pinarayi Vijayan was shielding the BJP spokesperson.
“If someone makes negative remarks about the chief minister in the state today, he is arrested and his home and offices are raided. However, despite a BJP spokesperson openly issuing threats against the country’s leader of the opposition, he has not been arrested till date. The government and the party in office are scared of the BJP. This is the newest example of the friendship between the CPI(M) and the BJP,” he alleged.
However, Law Minister P Rajeev dismissed the allegations. He said the state police registered a case against the BJP leader on September 28, within two days of the remarks being made, and is collecting digital evidence about the same.
BJP leader B Gopalakrishnan said Mahadevan’s remarks were ‘slip of the tongue’ and warned of the party’s protests if he was targeted by the police.
