Stormy scene outside Kerala Assembly Speaker's office, Oppn MLAs dragged during protest

Thiruvananthapuram, March 15

Unprecedented scenes were witnessed on Wednesday outside the office of the Kerala Assembly Speaker A.M. Shamseer in the Legislative complex here, when angry Opposition Congress-led legislators staged a blockade and the Watch and Ward staff dragged women legislators and other senior opposition members.

The opposition has been upset ever since Shamseer took over as the Speaker who has been particularly tough by dismissing the genuine Assembly protocols of the opposition, especially when they give notices on various issues.

For the past two days in succession, the opposition's request for moving an adjournment motion was not allowed.

The opposition legislators slammed Shamseer for being a "puppet" of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.

When on Wednesday, Shamseer turned down the request for an adjournment motion, angry opposition legislators trooped into the well of the House and started sloganeering. The Speaker started to rush through the listed business of the day. By this time, the opposition legislators reached his office, squatted there and started sloganeering.

K.K. Rema, one of the two women opposition legislators, said she was dragged by the women Watch and Ward staff.

"We were sitting and protesting and then a senior Congress legislator Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan was roughed up. We strongly protested against this. Soon a few treasury bench legislators also joined the Watch and Ward staff to attack us. One legislator H. Salam also joined them and attacked us," said Rema.

Congress legislator Uma Thomas said, "We wanted to present an adjournment motion about the safety of women and this was disallowed.

"The Watch and Ward tried to heckle me and I sternly told them if they try to do it, then serious consequences would be there. It's a shame for the Speaker to force his way to his room while we are protesting. This is a democratic country and we were protesting through democratic norms," said Thomas.

The entire top brass of the opposition is meeting to take up the future course of action and it includes filing a police complaint on the attack on women legislators.

In the melee, first-time Congress legislator Saneesh Kumar Joseph fell unconscious at the protest spot and was carried by some Watch and Ward staff to the medical room.