The reference by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Thursday in the Assembly that the Opposition had hired the Shiv Sena to create trouble in Kochi need not be expunged from the records of the Assembly, Speaker P. Sreeramakrishnan has ruled.
The Chief Minister had only expressed openly what he suspected politically, the Speaker said. It was V.D. Satheesan who had asked the Speaker to expunge Mr. Vijayan’s remarks under Rule 307 which deals with unparliamentary or derogatory usages. Mr. Vijayan’s remarks could not be equated with such comments, he said.
Everyone concerned had the chance to make their positions clear on the Chief Minister’s remarks. Moreover, the removal from the records of the remarks of the Leader of the Opposition cannot be equated with the ruling on Mr. Vijayan’s remarks, he said.
Political accusations and criticisms are common in the House. The responsibility of the Speaker is to ensure a fair chance to reply to such criticism.
There is no tradition of removing political opinions from the House records. So, there is no need to expunge Mr. Vijayan’s remarks, he added.
Bill on more loans
The House referred to the subject committee a Bill that seeks to raise the vehicle loan and the housing loan for MLAs other than the Speaker, the Deputy Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition, the Chief Whip and Ministers. The Bill also seeks to raise the monthly allowances for two members in the personal staff of ministers. As per the Bill the vehicle loan would be raised from ₹5 lakh to ₹10 lakh. The housing loan would be raised from₹10 lakh to ₹25 lakh. The staff allowance would go up from ₹12,500 to ₹20,000.
As per an all-party agreement, there were no amendments on the Bill and therefore no discussion. The House also referred to the subject committee the Kerala Shops and Commercial Establishments Workers’ Welfare Fund(Amendment) Bill 2016.
