Leader of the Opposition V.S. Achuthanandan on Tuesday said the Opposition boycott he had announced in the Assembly during the zero hour of the day's session was to “uphold the sanctity of the honourable House.”
Addressing a press conference after the boycott (in which Mr. Achuthanandan walked out after announcing it and the other Opposition members stayed on in the House shouting slogans), he said a person who was the sixth accused in a twin-murder case should not be allowed to sit in the House.
This was the demand the Left Democratic Front (LDF) had raised in the House. Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) MLA, P.K. Basheer, named as an accused in a First Information Report on a twin-murder case in Malappuram district, should not be allowed to sit in the Kerala Assembly, which had a great tradition, Mr. Achuthanandan said.
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Mr. Achuthanandan said he had come out after announcing the boycott and had been waiting to address the media and the other members of the Opposition had raised slogans protesting against the tendency of the government to protect the accused. Asked whether the Opposition would continue the boycott, he said it would be decided after consultations [among the LDF members].
Immediately after Mr. Achuthanandan's press conference, government Chief Whip P.C. George addressed the media and said the Opposition was “unsure who the leader is.”
“Mr. Achuthanandan announces the boycott. It means they are boycotting. But, while he went out of the House, every other Opposition member stayed on, obstructing the proceedings of the House,” Mr. George said.
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