Assembly suspended temporarily after UDF and LDF fight over Pinarayi’s police policy | Thiruvananthapuram

The Assembly was temporarily disrupted on Monday following heated exchanges between the ruling and Opposition benches over the police handling of anti-government protests.

The Opposition was enraged after the backbenchers in the ruling side repeatedly disrupted the speech of Opposition Leader V D Satheesan. He was speaking after Speaker A N Shamseer turned down the adjournment motion moved by Congress MLA Shafi Parambil on police violence.

It was Satheesan’s point by point rebuttal of the Chief Minister’s arguments that seemed to have irked the ruling benches. The Chief Minister had earlier argued that the Youth Congress found it so difficult to get enough people to participate in their protests that only one or two were found waving black flags along road sides.

Satheesan shot back saying that if there were just one or two Youth Congress members what was the need to carry out widespread preventive arrests of Youth Congress members.

When the ruling members showed no sign of settling in their seats, the Opposition members trooped to the well carrying large anti-government banners and shouting slogans.

When the Speaker’s attempts to calm things failed, he walked out saying the House stands suspended for a while.