THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: On the first day of the session, the Kerala Assembly saw chaotic scenes as the Congress-led opposition staged a walkout amid chanting.
The leader of the opposition, V.D. Satheesan, accused the treasury benches of engaging in sloganeering to the media outside the Assembly: "We have made the decision not to work together on the Assembly's floor today. By the Ministers and Treasury benches, we have never previously witnessed sloganeering. They believe that by being aggressive, they can protect Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan from the fallout of his few bad deeds. Vijayan's office was behind the attack on Rahul Gandhi's office in Wayanad "Asserted Satheesan.
Chaos quickly reigned after the House convened at 9 a.m. because the Speaker (MB Rajesh) forbade TV networks from filming the Question Hour and offered controlled visuals in which the opposition's cries were cut, infuriating the media to a great extent. Later, the Speaker's office claimed that a "communication gap" was to blame.
After almost an hour, the House reconvened. The opposition was spotted shouting slogans, and when the speaker tried to go on to the next, the sloganeering got louder.
Satheesan charged the CPI-M with supporting the BJP's anti-Gandhi stance. "In order to appease the BJP, Vijayan, who is embroiled in a number of crises and has the support of the Central agencies, is doing all of this. We won't let that intimidate us. Vijayan also engaged in media censorship. He's trying to ape Modi, but we will not allow it," he added.
Kerala UDF opposition disrupts Assembly proceedings over Wayanad issue
Assembly session of Kerala that begins today set to be stormy
