Assembly session likely to be suspended

By Our Special Correspondent

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, OCT. 30. With the Opposition LDF upping ante, the Government appears to have veered round to the position that the Assembly cannot go on with truncated sittings and that there should be a reprieve so that tempers could cool a bit and there could be a negotiated resolution of the stand-of between the Government and the Opposition.

This was the understanding reached when the Chief Minister, Mr. A.K. Antony, his Cabinet colleagues and senior UDF leaders met at the Chief Minister's chamber at the Assembly immediately after the House adjourned for the day today. Minutes earlier, the three suspended MLAs, Mr. M.V. Jayarajan, Mr. Raju Abraham (both CPI-M) and Mr. P.S. Supal (CPI), had begun an indefinite fast in the Assembly foyer to press their demand for revocation of their suspension.

Word about the Government's thinking reached the Opposition leaders midway through the meeting at the Chief Minister's office. The UDF convener, Mr. Oommen Chandy, and the Industries Minister, Mr. P.K. Kunhalikutty, visited the fasting MLAs and were engaged in confabulations with the CPI(M) Deputy Legislature Party leader, Mr. Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, for a brief while.

The Government plan apparently is to adjourn the House after finishing off urgent Government business and resume the session on November 12 to take up the Finance Bill, the Supplementary Demands for Grants and the Bills awaiting introduction in the House. The suspension of the three LDF MLAs would remain valid even when the House resumes session because technically they are under suspension till the end of the current session.

The position would change only if the Government decides to prorogue the House. But in that case, the Government would have to reconvene the House after observing the necessary formalities. That could prove inconveniently time-consuming given the kind of legislative measures that the Government contemplates. The Government would rather avoid such a situation. Hence the decision to suspend the session for 11 days.

In the event of the Government deciding to suspend the session, the Opposition would also decide to suspend the fast by the three MLAs. Apparently, there is a hope all round that by the time the House resumes its sitting, the two sides would have arrived at an understanding on ending the stalemate.

Almost all senior leaders from the ruling Front visited the fasting MLAs and their colleagues. The first to call on them were Mr. Chandy and Mr. Kunhalikutty. They were followed by the Revenue Minister, Mr. K.M. Mani, the Congress Deputy Legislature Party leader, Mr. M.P. Gangadharan, and several ruling Front MLAs.

After a while, the Speaker, Mr. Vakkom Purushothaman, himself came calling and told the MLAs that they could get in touch with him if they needed any help.

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Section  : Southern States
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