THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Close on the heels of UDF MP NK Premachandran moving a private member's Bill on Sabarimala in the Lok Sabha, the Congress once again sought permission for a private member’s Bill on the issue in the Assembly. Kovalam MLA A Vincent approached the Speaker seeking to review an earlier decision in this regard.
Referring to Premachandran’s Bill in the Parliament, Vincent on Tuesday approached Speaker P Sreeramakrishnan seeking permission to introduce the Bill, aimed at legislation to bypass the Supreme Court verdict allowing women entry to the hill shrine. Last November, the Speaker had denied permission to introduce the bill in the House.
Vincent had given notice to the Chair seeking permission to introduce a Bill for protecting the customs in Sabarimala. He had proposed that Ayyappa devotees should be considered as a separate religious denomination. However, permission was denied. However, in his letter to the Speaker on Tuesday, Vincent pointed out that it’s not for the Assembly to decide whether legislation is unconstitutional.
Referring to a ruling in this regard, the Kovalam MLA pointed out that in case if the government feels the Bill is unconstitutional, it should oppose when the motion for introducing the Bill comes up before the House.