It was a flashback for some, a learning and introspective session for others. And a first in the history of the state Assembly.
“Sneha Souhrida Sangamam’ organised as part of the 125th anniversary celebrations of the Kerala Legislative Assembly here on Saturday turned out to be a unique conclave in the chequered history of the House. Former speakers, deputy speakers, those who had served as secretaries and above all, tens of hundreds of retired staff of the Assembly secretariat converged in the members’ lounge in the Assembly to take a walk down memory lane.
Presiding over the function, Speaker G Karthikeyan hoped that the Kerala Assembly, which had pioneered many a landmark legislation and became a role model to the country, will adopt Right To Hear soon.
He recalled that Kerala was in the forefront of revolutionary changes and the House played a pivotal role in formulating it. ‘’However, it is another matter that legislations are made by officials and adopted by the House without much discussions’, he felt. The Sangamam became a occasion for the participants to share their past and present experiences.
Most of the former Speakers who attended the conclave were unanimous that there was a fall in the standards of discussions in the Assembly over the years. V M Sudheeran expressed serious concern at the continuous stalling of proceedings in Parliament. If this trend continues, it will eventually become disastrous for democratic process itself, he said.
Among the 18 Speakers who had chaired the House, nine are alive. Out of them, barring Mizoram Governor Vakkom Purushothaman, all others attended the meet.
Former Speakers’ T S John, A C Jose, Therambil Ramakrishnan, P P Thankachan, M Vijayakumar and K Radhakrishnan, Assembly secretaries’ Justice R Rajendra Babu, Justice J M James, Dr K N Jayakumar, Justice K R Udayabhanu, Dr M C Valsan and Justice P D Rajan shared their experiences and observations at the conclave.