The Kerala Assembly was plunged into a din for a brief during Question Hour on Wednesday when the Opposition took up cudgels against Health Minister Adoor Prakash for his reported remark that ‘the fever casualties reported in the State over the last few weeks were due to liquor consumption’.
The Opposition members, who took strong objection to the Minister’s remark and sought an apology him, rushed into the Well of the House even as Mr. Prakash was replying to a question. As the treasury benches sat stupefied by the sudden Opposition move, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy saved the situation for the government by offering apologies for the Minister’s remark.
The trigger for the Opposition protest came from deputy leader of the Opposition Kodiyeri Balakrishnan (CPI-M), who termed the Minister’s remark a shame for the entire State. The Minister tried to explain that he had only reflected some of the views expressed by the team of medical specialists from the Centre who had toured the State to study the fever situation. The team, he said, was of the view that a specific percentage of fever deaths were on account of ailments of the liver. He was sorry that his statement was misunderstood, Mr. Prakash explained.
But the Opposition members were not satisfied with his explanation. If the Central team had indeed said so, the government should table its report in the House or, if there was no such report, the Minister should tender an apology to the House, they insisted. Even as the Minister tried to reason with them, a large majority of the Opposition members were in the Well of the House raising slogans against Mr. Prakash. They returned to their seats and calm was restored in the House only after the Chief Minister volunteered to explain matters and offer apologies for the Minister’s remark.
