THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A sincere, upright and hard working politician who commanded respect from all cutting across party lines. This is how former Kerala governor P Sathasivam remembers V S Achuthanandan.
What set him apart was his modest, unassuming manners, said Sathasivam, who in 2016 famously asked the Achuthanandan-led Opposition members to either behave or leave the assembly when they tried to disrupt his speech during a protest demanding the resignation of then CM Oommen Chandy, and others.
“I knew him well during my tenure in Kerala. I have great respect for him,” he told TNIE over the phone. On the stormy session, he said: “I told the Opposition it was my Constitutional duty to deliver the government’s policy address. They refused to oblige,” he said.
Sathasivam even appealed to Achuthanandan and Kodiyeri Balakrishnan to let him to continue. When the Opposition neglected his pleas, he said: “I am aware this protest is not against me...Better you sit quiet or leave the house.”
The Opposition walked out. Achuthanandan later said the Opposition had no issue with the governor. “We respectfully asked him to avoid policy address. Also, we respectfully communicate our protest on today’s development,” he said.