Thiruvananthapuram: Dramatic scenes unfolded in the Kerala assembly on Monday, with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and opposition leader V D Satheesan engaging in a heated exchange that escalated tensions within the House.It all began with the Congress led UDF members protesting against the Speaker’s decision to downgrade their priority questions. The opposition members rushed to the well of the house.Even though the opposition leader stood up to speak and asked his MLAs to return to their seats, some of them continued to raise slogans near the dais. At this stage, the Speaker asked, “Who is the opposition leader here? There seems to be many.”Angered by his remarks, Satheeshan stated that no Speaker had ever posed such a question. “It is immature of the Chair to have made such remarks. UDF members left the house.In their absence, Parliamentary Affairs Minister M.B. Rajesh said Satheeshan qualifies as the most substandard opposition leader in Kerala’s history. The Chief Minister also joined the attack, saying Satheeshan has demonstrated many times that he is an opposition leader of substandard quality. Now, it seems he has plummeted to his lowest depths.Their criticism came in the wake of opposition leader’s remarks against the Speaker.After returning to his house, Satheeshan looked at the CM and said, “I pray daily. One of the things I always pray for is that I should not become a corrupt and substandard person like you.”The chief minister responded angrily, “The people of Kerala know who Pinarayi is and who Satheeshan is. No one will believe you if you say Pinarayi Vijayan is corrupt.”Satheesan likened his response to “the devil quoting scripture.” As opposition members ascended to the Speaker’s dais, Shamsheer adjourned the session for the day.Earlier, the Chief Minister consented to a discussion on the adjournment motion that the opposition UDF had moved concerning Pinarayi Vijayan’s alleged remarks to a national daily about the high number of cases of gold smuggling and hawala transactions in Malappuram district. The opposition was taken aback as they had anticipated the Speaker to reject the motion. The UDF had arrived prepared to protest in the House and to walk out once the Speaker declined their motion.However, the situation changed when the government consented to a detailed discussion on all controversial issues. The motion was scheduled for a three-hour debate starting at 12 noon.
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