The Question Hour in the Assembly on Monday witnessed protests by the opposition United Democratic Front (UDF) members as Minister for General Education V. Sivankutty rose to reply to questions.
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UDF members shouted slogans against the Minister and displayed banners and placards.
Mr. Sivankutty has been facing demands for resignation after the Supreme Court rejected the State government’s plea to withdraw the criminal case against him and other Left Democratic Front (LDF) MLAs in connection with the violent scenes inside the Assembly in March 2015.
The question hour had got off to a peaceful start at 9 a.m. with Minister for Ports Ahammad Devarkovil replying to questions on the status of ports in the State. Mr. Sivankutty was scheduled to reply to the questions next on digital education tools for students.
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Following the protests, the Speaker switched to the next question after the Minister read out his written reply.
The Speaker then directed the Opposition members to remove banners from the Assembly pointing out that they were prohibited. Banners cannot be displayed inside the House as per a Speaker's ruling on prohibited items issued on July 8, 2005, Mr. Rajesh said.
A few minutes later, protests again erupted when Mr. Sivankutty rose to reply to questions on training programmes for teachers.
The protests against Mr. Sivankutty aside, the Question Hour progressed peacefully.