The Kerala Assembly is going to witness a no-confidence motion on Monday after a gap of 15 years amid a volatile political climate. Though the result of the motion would be on expected lines, thanks to the massive majority of the LDF government, the motion is bound to increase the political heat as it is being moved to demand Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's resignation amid allegations of corruption in his office linked to the gold smuggling case.
In the 140-member Assembly, the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) has 91 members, the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) 45 and the BJP has one member.
The opposition is expected to train its guns against the ruling front on various issues including the gold smuggling case, involvement of the chief minister’s former personnel secretary IAS officer M. Shiv Shankar in the case and the corruption allegations over the Life Mission. As the High Court had banned all public protests given the COVID-19 situation, the opposition is likely to use the floor of the House to register their protest.
The lone BJP MLA in the Assembly, O. Rajagopal, has already announced that he would stage a dharna in front of the Assembly demanding the resignation of Vijayan. Other party leaders are also expected to join the dharna to be held at the gate of the Assembly.
The one-day session will also be crucial as the government and opposition have agreed to jointly bring out a resolution against the Central government decision to hand over the Trivandrum International Airport to Adani Enterprises.
The last no-confidence motion in Kerala happened in 2005 in the 11th Assembly by CPI(M)’s Kodiyeri Balakrishnan against the Oommen Chandy government, alleging major corruption charges against various ministers.
As the session is being held at a time when the number of COVID-19 cases are on the rise in the capital, the Assembly complex and the adjacent areas have already been disinfected. Also, special seating arrangements have been made for the session. "Each member will have a separate seat for this session in order to maintain the social distance. All the members will be provided with a sanitiser, mask and a face-shield along with a pair of gloves," said, a release from the speaker's office.
