The United Democratic Front (UDF) has initiated a notice to table a resolution in the Assembly under Article 179 of the Indian Constitution to remove Speaker P. Sreeramakrishnan from his office.
Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) leader M. Ummer had submitted the notice to the Legislative Secretary 14 days before the commencement of the Assembly as mandated by the law.
Mr. Ummer said in the notice that the Speaker had lowered the esteem of the Assembly by personally associating with Swapna Suresh, the second accused in the high-profile case relating to the smuggling of gold via the diplomatic channel of the UAE consulate.
He had inaugurated the car workshop of another accused in the case. The NIA has booked the accused on suspicion of having used the proceeds of the smuggling operation to finance terrorist activities. The case against the accused had elements of treason.
Mr. Sreeramakrishnan’s personal relationship with the suspects had brought disrepute to the Assembly. Hence, he should vacate his office.
The move to introduce the resolution is the latest bid by the UDF to make a political issue out of the scandal by attempting to link it to the Speaker and the Chief Minister’s Office.
Street agitation
Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president Mullappally Ramachandran said that the Congress had cancelled its street agitation in deference to the High Court order that stressed the need to avoid assemblies until the pandemic situation improved.
He said Mr. Vijayan had made a scapegoat of out Mr. Sivasankar in a vain attempt to ward off liability for shielding smugglers and dubious characters.
Former KPCC president V.M. Sudheeran said Mr. Vijayan had set an undesirable precedented by turning his office into a den for anti-nationals and economic offenders.
