Sabarimala Row Sparks Chaos In Kerala Assembly

The Kerala Assembly witnessed a massive uproar on Wednesday as the opposition UDF members engaged in a scuffle with watch-and-ward personnel and boycotted the House proceedings later. The opposition members have been protesting seeking the resignation of the Devaswom minister over the Sabarimala gold-plating row. 

The opposition, which had earlier in the day announced its decision to disrupt House proceedings, stormed the well of the Assembly holding placards and banners, calling for Minister Vasavan’s ouster. Tensions escalated when the protesting legislators attempted to approach the Speaker's podium, only to be stopped by watch-and-ward staff. This led to a scuffle between the opposition MLAs and the security personnel.

Members of the treasury benches, including Minister Saji Cheriyan, rushed to the well and engaged in heated exchanges with the protesting MLAs. The commotion broke out while General Education Minister V Sivankutty was addressing the House during question hour. Expressing displeasure, Sivankutty said the banner raised by the opposition obstructed his view of the members and disrupted the session.

As the uproar continued, Speaker A N Shamseer suspended question hour midway and adjourned the House temporarily.

When the session resumed, Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan accused the government of using force to suppress a democratic protest. He criticised the deployment of watch-and-ward personnel, stating that such action was unusual and provocative. Satheesan alleged that Ministers Saji Cheriyan and Mohammed Riyas were the first to rush to the well, further escalating the situation, a claim the Speaker denied.

Chief Minister Vijayan strongly criticised the opposition's conduct, asserting that they could have raised the issue through established legislative procedures such as an adjournment motion or a submission, but chose not to. He also questioned the UDF’s demand for a CBI probe, suggesting it was politically motivated. Defending the assembly staff, Vijayan said the watch-and-ward personnel were "harmless" and had been manhandled during the scuffle.

Despite the opposition’s absence, the House continued with its scheduled business. The assembly on Tuesday also passed the Kerala Societies Registration Bill, 2025 meant to replace two pre-1956 laws governing societies with a single legislation for the entire State. 

Minister for Registration Kadannapally Ramachandran, presenting the Bill as reported by the Subject Committee (Economic Affairs), described it as “an important, timely, as well as a historic step” in matters related to the State’s Registration department.

Meanwhile, the Kerala High Court on Monday ordered the formation of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe alleged irregularities related to the gold-plating of the 'Dwarapalaka' idols at the Lord Ayyappa temple in Sabarimala. The court was informed that around 4.5 kilograms of gold were unaccounted for after the claddings were last removed for plating in 2019. These discrepancies were revealed during ongoing legal proceedings concerning the re-plating of the idols this year, reportedly undertaken without prior intimation to the court.

The High Court has also directed a comprehensive inventory of all valuables at the temple, including gold items, under the supervision of retired Justice K T Sankaran.

With PTI inputs