Kerala assembly chaos echoes in Parliament

Congress and Left members from the state indulged in a verbal spat; the Chair disallowed them from raising the issue

The fracas in Kerala assembly today found its echo in both Houses of Parliament, with Congress and Left members from the state indulging in a verbal spat and the Chair disallowing them from raising of the issue.

As soon as the Question Hour began in Lok Sabha, members of Left parties and Congress from Kerala raised the issue that soon turned into a verbal spat, prompting the government to urge the Chair to ensure that the issue is not allowed to be raised in the House.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu urged Speaker Sumitra Mahajan to disallow them from raising the matter as it pertained to a state legislature.

In the Rajya Sabha, K N Balagopal (CPI-M) tried to raise the issue during Zero Hour but was disallowed by Deputy Chairman P J Kurien, saying whatever references made about Kerala Assembly have been expunged.

Balagopal got up to raise the issue of the happenings in Kerala when the budget has to be passed by the state assembly and alleged that top leaders of the ruling coalition UDF were facing charges in the bar bribery scam.

Kerala Assembly today witnessed unprecedented and ugly scenes as Finance Minister K M Mani, facing allegations in the bar bribery issue, presented the state budget amid stiff resistance by LDF-led Opposition who tried all means to thwart his attempt.

In the Lok Sabha, Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge tried to raise the issue of attack on Tamil T V channel allegedly by a Hindu outfit, but the Chair disallowed him.