THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Apparently walking right into the trap laid by the government, the Opposition forced the state assembly to adjourn sine die on Tuesday. The UDF had a slew of genuine issues up its sleeve to put the government on the mat, but it messed up the opportunity, and adamantly stuck to its demand for the chief minister’s assurance on the notice for adjournment motion.
Now both fronts will be gearing up to take the battle to the streets. With seven MLAs charged with non-bailable offences, the Opposition will have to gather all its resources for the big fight. The UDF has announced that it will lay siege to the state secretariat in the second week of May when the LDF government celebrates its second anniversary.
However, it will be a mammoth task for the UDF to maintain the tempo, especially with the month of Ramadan, beginning this week.
A large section of workers of both the Congress and the Muslim League will be practically ‘unavailable’ for protests due to the fast.
Though the UDF tries to put up a brave face and claims that the government ran away from the Opposition attack by winding up the assembly session, the fact is that the Opposition failed to effectively raise many issues.
UDF failed to seize the opportunity
The Opposition narrowed down its focus to the adjournment motion issue at the cost of a host of issues— right from Brahmapuram, women's safety, fuel cess, Akash Thillenkery’s revelations, allegations against E P Jayarajan and the latest disclosures by gold smuggling accused Swapna —in the House.
The LDF feels that the Opposition failed to achieve its target. The UDF had successfully organised protests against the decision to impose a fuel cess at the beginning of the assembly session. However, it could not sustain the momentum. The CPM, which has just completed the Janakeeya Prathirodha Yatra, is ready to engage in political campaigns to counter the UDF.
Secretariat siege in May
The UDF has announced that it will lay siege to the state secretariat in the second week of May, when the LDF government celebrates its second anniversary