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SC verdict on Kerala assembly violence: CM rules out minister’s resignation
The Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected the state government’s plea to withdraw the case and asked all six accused, including the minister, to face criminal proceedings for destroying House property during a ruckus in 2015
There was a furore in Kerala assembly on Thursday after chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan rejected the Opposition demand for the resignation of education minister V Sivankutty, an accused in the assembly violence case.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected the state government’s plea to withdraw the case and asked all six accused, including the minister, to face criminal proceedings for destroying House property during a ruckus in 2015.
Many youth outfits hit the street seeking Sivankutty’s exit and a rally of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) outside the assembly turned violent.
An adjournment motion was introduced in the House by Congress member P T Thomas who said it was immoral and unjust to allow the minister to continue. The minister was not present in the House. “What message you will be giving to students if you continue to allow him in the education ministry? It is a disgrace for a state like Kerala,” said Opposition leader V D Satheesan, asking the CM to drop Sivankutty.
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But Vijayan said the court did not get into the merit of the case and it has not taken any specific name. He said all accused legislators were punished by the Speaker after the incident. “I feel what happened in the assembly should have ended there,” he said, amid protests from Opposition members who said he was casting aspersions on the judgment of the highest court.
After the CM’s explanation, Speaker M B Rajesh denied permission to the motion and Opposition members stormed out of the House.
In March 2015, Opposition Left Democratic Front (LDF) legislators tried to prevent then finance minister KM Mani from presenting the budget over his alleged role in the bar bribery case. The chaos that followed saw two legislators injured and damange to property worth ₹2.20 lakh.
After coming to power in 2016, the government tried to withdraw the case, only for a local court to reject it. The Pinarayi Vijayan government then moved the high court, which also turned down its plea. The government also invoked the privilege of legislators and public interest to justify its decision to withdraw the case, but the high court rejected it saying privilege was not a licence for violence in the House. Later, the apex court also upheld the lower court’s verdict.
