Protests disrupt Kerala Assembly over Sabarimala temple Gold case : Chief Minister Vijayan condemns Opposition's "antics"

Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) [India], February 3 (ANI): Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Tuesday lashed out at the Opposition for attempting to "deliberately attempting to create trouble" in the Legislative Assembly and urged the House to condemn the "antics."
The Assembly witnessed uproarious scenes today as Opposition members led by the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) Opposition displayed placards, raised slogans and attempted to enter the Speaker's dais as part of their protest against the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) government in connection with the Sabarimala gold loss cases
Opposition leaders, including Congress MLA Anwar Sadat, then attempted to enter the Speaker's chamber. Visuals from the Assembly saw the house watch and ward personnel restrained the opposition members and as the protest intensified, Speaker A N Shamseer got up from his seat and left. The House proceedings were temporarily suspended.
After the resumption of house proceedings Chief Minister Vijayan said, "Minister P Rajeev has clearly stated his position regarding the observations made by the High Court. However, it appears that the Leader of the Opposition has not taken note of it. The SIT investigation report is being submitted properly, and the High Court is issuing necessary directions based on it. The High Court's observations are a slap in the face of the opposition. The High Court bench has given clear answers to all the allegations raised against the SIT,"
"While considering bail applications, the High Court often makes remarks it deems appropriate. It is the High Court, not the government, that issues directions to the investigating agency. The observations of the single bench cannot be treated as findings related to the investigation; they are only contextual remarks. Every action and investigation carried out by the SIT is based on the directions of the High Court division bench" the Chief Minister said.
Vijayan futher said that when the opposition tried to attack the watch and ward staff with the stick used in the banner that the watch and ward personnel seized it.
"There was no provocative atmosphere here at all. The opposition deliberately tried to create trouble. When they faced a setback in court, the opposition's stand was that they could come here, create a ruckus, and achieve their objective. The Leader of the Opposition is completely justifying the violence. The opposition displayed antics that should not be shown in the Legislative Assembly. What was the purpose of that? The House should condemn it," the Chief Minister said.
Leader of the Opposition and Congress leader VD Satheesan alleged that the accused in the Sabarimala gold loss cases were getting statutory bail and alleged there were lapses in the probe by the Special Investigation Team.
He said, "The court has stated that the accused got statutory bail because the chargesheet was not filed. The court has repeatedly pointed out that there has been a delay in the investigation. The investigation was obstructed due to pressure from the Chief Minister's Office. If the accused are released on bail, the remaining evidence will also be destroyed. For the first time ever, the opposition's banner was forcibly seized by the watch and ward staff. That is why opposition members climbed onto the dais. We did not indulge in any violence. It was the watch and ward staff who tried to create violence. The Speaker is challenging us. We were not invited for discussions to cooperate with the House proceedings."
Responding to Satheesan's allegations, Devaswom Minister M B Rajesh accused the opposition of disrupting the House without even submitting an adjournment motion on the issue. He said that the inquiry is progressing and being conducted under the supervision of the High Court.
Kerala Law Minister P Rajeev said that the opposition was staging protests to derail the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe.
"The High Court's remarks have come as a setback to the opposition. The person who first lodged a complaint on behalf of the opposition claiming that the gold was missing is Unnikrishnan Potty, who is now in jail. Those holding banners and standing in the Assembly are people who know who stole the gold. We are ready for any investigation conducted under the supervision of the High Court" the minister said.
After the House reconvened, Speaker AN Shamseer noted that the action by the Opposition members barging into his dais was not right.
"The opposition barging into the Speaker's dais was not right. It was an extremely unfortunate incident. The watch and ward staff did nothing against the opposition. It was the opposition members who attempted to jump onto the Chair," the Kerala Assembly Speaker said.
The Kollam Vigilance Court had on Monday granted statutory bail to former Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) executive officer D Sudheesh Kumar in two cases related to the loss of gold from the Sabarimala temple. Former temple administrative officers Murari Babu and S Sreekumar have also been granted statutory bail.
Meanwhile, accused Unnikrishnan Potti had secured statutory bail in the Dwarapalaka idol case, though he remains in custody in connection with the Sreekovil doorframe case. The SIT has so far arraigned 16 accused in the Dwarapalaka idol case and 13 in the Sreekovil doorframe case. (ANI)