Talks only if settlement is certain: Speaker

By Our Special Correspondent

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, OCT. 29. The Speaker, Mr. Vakkom Purushothaman, has said that he would convene a meeting of party leaders in the Assembly only if he was certain of a breakthrough in the current stalemate.

Mr. Purushothaman told reporters that he was personally reluctant to intervene in the matter because the action against the LDF legislators had been taken by the House and because the LDF had made him a party to the dispute.

"Nowhere in the world has the Speaker been disgraced this way," he said referring to the Opposition sloganeering against him and the Leader of the Opposition, Mr. V.S. Achuthanandan's reference to him as `an executioner of democracy'. The "book is very clear" on what should be done in such situations. Any utterance against the Speaker within or outside the House is breach of privilege and could be acted upon. "But I am not doing that," he said.

Mr. Purushothaman said he would not hesitate to invite the party leaders for a discussion if he was convinced his intervention would help solve the issue. He had had discussions with Mr. Kodiyeri Balakrishnan and the Government side on Sunday and knew well that even if a meeting were convened today, it would not result in a breakthrough, the Speaker said.

He pointed out that under the rules of procedure, no member could even go towards the Ministers, leave alone assaulting anyone. In the present instance, the LDF members had moved towards the Transport Minister and caught hold of his hand. He had personally not seen them assaulting him. But the very fact that they moved menacingly towards the Minister was liable to be punished.

"I am firm that the House should function according to the rules of procedure and that wrong precedents should go. Haven't I changed the practice of the House ending its sittings late in the night? See, I don't act out of fear for anyone. Therefore, I have the moral courage to be firm. You can read between the lines (of what I have said)," he said.

Mr. Purushothaman said his decisions might have hurt his own partymen, but pointed out that nobody would be able to question if he was acting correctly.

He said the person who was in charge of videography on October 18, the date of the untoward incidents in the House, had been moved out because what exactly happened after the LDF legislators moved towards the Transport Minister was not to be seen in the video. No charge has been framed against him for it was not clear whether he did it deliberately or inadvertently, the Speaker said.

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Section  : Southern States
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