THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: With two days remaining for the 12th session of the 15th Kerala Legislative Assembly , Leader of the Opposition V D Satheesan has filed a complaint with the Speaker citing that the Legislature Secretariat has deliberately eliminated 49 starred questions in bulk given by Opposition legislators. The questions are related to controversial issues like ADGP - RSS leadership meet, Thrissur Pooram and Kafir screen shot.
This is not the first time that Satheesan has raised such an allegation before the Speaker. In September 2022, Satheesan had approached then speaker M B Rajesh complaining that the questions raised against the chief minister in the Legislative Assembly were being changed in favour of the ruling bench.
But this time, 49 starred notices pertaining to ADGP - RSS meeting, Thrissur Pooram and Kafir screen shot issues which should have seen the chief minister himself directly replying to the questions raised by the Opposition were removed in bulk. In the letter addressed to the Speaker, Satheesan highlighted that the move by the Legislature Secretariat is against his directives and earlier rulings.
“The Legislature Secretariat should examine the question notices given by the Opposition as per Rules 38 and 39 and depending on its relevance it should be included as starred questions. This move has caused anguish among the public as the notices raised by the Opposition deserve to be heard in the Assembly. It also implies that the opportunities of the legislators have been compromised,” said Satheesan in his letter.
He also urged that the decorum being maintained towards parliamentary and democratic values should be raised. Satheesan had also included the notices which were provided to the Legislature Secretariat for due consideration for starred questions that require oral reply in the Assembly.