"Finding reasons to save face": Kerala Minister MB Rajesh slams Opposition over uproar in Assembly

Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) [India], October 7 : With the Kerala Assembly being adjourned for the day on Monday after a protest on the floor of the House following an intense verbal spat between the Opposition and the ruling party leaders, state Parliamentary Affairs Minister MB Rajesh criticized the Opposition for "creating provocation" in the Assembly.
"They put up banners and even climbed up to the Speaker's dais. This was a very extraordinary situation, and they deliberately created provocation to somehow escape from this discussion," MB Rajesh told ANI.
He further claimed that the opposition is trying to "save face" after the commotion in the assembly.
"They are finding reasons to save face with their allegations that the starred questions were changed to unstarred. What will happen if it is starred? The opposition will only get hardly five minutes. Here, when we admitted the notice for adjournment, they would have gotten three hours of discussion. So why would they boycott the session over starred questions and abandon the matter? Their attempt was to create a smokescreen of allegations," he added.
Earlier in the session, Leader of Opposition VD Satheesan accused the Speaker and the government of sidelining important issues of state and national interest and denying the opposition the right to raise critical questions after 45 starred questions were downgraded for the question hour.
In response, Speaker AN Shamseer clarified that, according to Assembly rules, questions cannot be made public until asked during the session. He defended the decision to convert the starred questions, stating that it was not a rule violation but based on the speculative nature of the questions.
Despite this clarification, the opposition continued to protest, demanding accountability on significant issues, including a meeting between Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) MR Ajith Kumar and leaders of the RSS.
"Isn't this of public interest? How can this be deemed unimportant?" Satheesan questioned, but the Speaker proceeded with the question hour without providing a direct answer.
Ramakrishnan further claimed that the opposition was violating the rules and procedures.
"The opposition leader is adopting a position that goes against the rules and procedures. Opposition MLAs forcefully approached the Speaker's dais, and had the Watch and Ward not intervened, they would have attacked the Speaker. People need to understand this and stand on the side of justice. The government's decision to allow the motion to be discussed was made with good intent, but even within the opposition, not all MLAs agree with their leader's position," he added.
The 12th session of the 15th Kerala Legislative Assembly commenced on Friday, October 4, but the House was adjourned on the first day after paying homage to the victims of the Wayanad landslide tragedy. The session began on a confrontational note on Monday, with the opposition UDF boycotting the question hour in protest.