THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In an unprecedented move, Opposition MLAs took their protest to the office of Speaker AN Shamseer leading to a tense situation in the Kerala Assembly complex on Wednesday.
Both ruling and Opposition MLAs nearly came to blows outside the Speaker's office. There was a scuffle between UDF MLAs and the assembly security staff who tried to remove them from the spot. Congress MLA TJ Saneesh Kumar Joseph became unconscious.
The Opposition alleged that Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan MLA and women MLAs KK Rema and Uma Thomas were manhandled by the security staff. The Opposition MLAs were peeved at the Speaker denying them permission to discuss women's security through an adjournment motion.
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On Tuesday, the Opposition's demand to discuss police action on UDF councillors in Kochi corporation through an adjournment motion was also turned down. Earlier, the protests by UDF MLAs in the Assembly, directed mainly against the Speaker for allegedly denying the rights of the Opposition, led to the disruption of house proceedings.
In the wake of the protests, the Speaker rushed through the day's proceedings and adjourned the house for the day. Meanwhile, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan broke his silence on the Brahmapuram fire incident by making a statement under Rule 300 in the Assembly. Pinarayi said an expert team will be constituted to probe the causes of the fire and suggest measures to avoid such incidents in future.