The Question Hour in the Assembly had to be cancelled on Monday after the Opposition legislators disrupted the proceedings demanding the resignation of the Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and a judicial probe into the solar scam.
The Opposition legislators displayed banners and placards demanding the resignation of Mr. Chandy as soon as the House began in the morning. Once the Speaker G. Karthikeyan called the Chief Minister to reply to the questions, he could not reply to them as the first four questions were given by the Opposition legislators.
The Opposition legislators started shouting slogans as the Speaker tried to go ahead with the proceedings even as the Deputy Leader of the Opposition tried to raise the solar scam. Mr. Karthikeyan said the question hour cannot be stopped or suspended and the situation does not warrant for it. “The Chair will give time. There is an adjournment motion in the same issue”, he said.
The Speaker called Mr. Chandy to reply to the queries but the Chief Minister did not respond as the opposition legislators continued by shouting slogans. Later, they moved to the front benches airing their demand. The Speaker’s assurance that he will protect the rights of the legislators did not calm them down.
As the Speaker asked the Chief Minister to reply to the fifth question, the Opposition moved towards the well of the house and Speaker’s podium shouting slogans and displaying placards. The Chief Minister, who struggled to locate the files initially, replied to the question amidst the shouting of the slogans and commotion.
The appeal of the Speaker to the Opposition to cooperate with the question hour did not yield any result. As the Opposition continued with slogan shouting from the well of the house, the Speaker cancelled the question hour and left the House. The Opposition legislators sat on the well raising slogans till the House resumed at 9.30 a.m. when the Speaker took up the adjournment motion.
