Thiruvananthapuram, Sep 13 (IANS) When the penultimate session of the present Kerala Legislative Assembly opens on Monday, the question dominating political circles is whether suspended Congress legislator Rahul Mamkootathil will turn up.
Leader of the Opposition and Congress Parliamentary Party leader V.D. Satheesan has already informed Speaker A.N. Shamseer of Mamkootathil’s suspension. He will now be allotted a separate seat on the Opposition benches.
However, uncertainty looms over his participation in the 12-day sitting, which runs from September 15 to October 9 with breaks in between.
The Congress-led Opposition had been gearing up to mount a full-fledged offensive against the Pinarayi Vijayan government over a string of issues when the sexual harassment allegations against Mamkootathil surfaced last month.
The scandal forced the Congress’s high command to suspend him, blunting the opposition’s momentum and giving the ruling left a political advantage.
For the Vijayan government, the controversy offered timely ammunition to counter UDF attacks, especially amid mounting complaints of police excesses across the state.
The CPI(M), too, has been on the defensive after a youth leader exposed unsavoury activities within its Thrissur unit, further raising the stakes for the session.
The Opposition benches will also miss one of their most vocal figures, IUML legislator Dr M.K. Muneer, who is recovering in a Kozhikode hospital after a cardiac arrest.
His absence, coupled with the cloud over Mamkootathil, is expected to weaken the Opposition’s floor strategy.
This session is crucial, being the last before the state heads to the high-stakes local body elections, widely regarded as a semi-final to the Assembly polls scheduled for April-May next year.
Had it not been for the Mamkootathil episode, Satheesan and the UDF would have enjoyed a free run in cornering the Vijayan government.
Instead, all eyes are now on whether the suspended legislator will walk into the Assembly or stay away. Will he come or won’t he?
That remains the defining question as Kerala braces for a stormy political season.
–IANS
sg/skp
