Thrissur Pooram ‘disruption’: Treasury benches of Kerala Assembly agree to adjournment debate

State Parliamentary Affairs Minister M.B. Rajesh said the notice for suspension of Assembly’s routine matters to discuss Thrissur Pooram controversy did not merit an adjournment debate prima facie, but nevertheless agreed to it to ‘clear the smokescreen of lies’ by Opposition

The political controversy surrounding the Thrissur Pooram “disruption” will likely dominate the Kerala Legislative Assembly’s proceedings on Wednesday (October 9, 2024) after the Treasury benches agreed to an adjournment debate on the tempestuous subject.

Senior Congress legislator Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan had served a notice under Rule 50 seeking a temporary suspension of the Assembly’s routine business for an emergency debate on the issue, which he stated had caused public consternation. 

In the notice, Mr. Radhakrishnan also expressed the Opposition’s “lack of faith” in the ongoing police investigation into the festival disruption and stressed the need for a judicial inquiry. 

Parliamentary Affairs Minister M.B. Rajesh, speaking on behalf of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, said the Opposition’s notice did not merit an adjournment debate prima facie. The government had ordered a high-level probe into the accusation. 

‘Smokescreen of lies’

Nevertheless, Mr. Rajesh said the government wanted to “clear the smokescreen of lies laid down by the Opposition in conjunction with the right-wing media to create disaffection” against the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government.

The government considers the notice an opportunity to puncture the Opposition’s politically motivated misinformation campaign centred around the conduct of the Thrissur Pooram, said Mr. Rajesh.

He added that the government had ordered a multi-tier probe headed by the State Police Chief into the festival disruption, and is awaiting its outcome.

UDF accusation

The Congress and the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) had accused the government of using the police to thwart Thrissur Pooram to aid the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the Thrissur Lok Sabha constituency.

Later, both parties alleged that the ensuing Hindu resentment had swept BJP leader Suresh Gopi to a thumping victory in the Parliamentary segment. The Opposition alleged a quid pro quo behind the “clandestine compact”.

Congress said the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had quietly dropped its investigation against the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] leaders allegedly involved in the Karuvannoor Cooperative Bank scam in Thrissur. 

CPI’s stance

The Communist Party of India (CPI), a critical LDF ally, had also accused a section of the police of throwing the festival into confusion by placing unreasonable restrictions on people’s movement and the conduct of fireworks, forcing one of the Devaswoms to call off the celebrations.

The CPI, suspecting a political conspiracy behind the festival disruption, had demanded a high-level governmental inquiry. 

Suresh Gopi’s arrival

Both the Opposition and the CPI had questioned why the police allowed Mr. Gopi to arrive at the Devaswom office in an ambulance operated by Seva Bharathi, a Sangh Parivar organisation, when law enforcers denied ingress to the festival area to other candidates, including CPI’s V.S. Sunil Kumar and Congress’s K. Muraleedharan.

The CPI had accused the police of preventing Revenue Minister K. Rajan’s vehicle from entering the festival grounds, forcing the Minister to walk to the spot. At the same time, law enforcement gave Mr. Gopi free passage. The CPI had also filed a police complaint against Mr. Gopi for unlawfully using an ambulance for private travel.

Hero’s image

The Congress and CPI had alleged that the police’s “politically partisan” action had imbued Mr. Gopi with a champion’s image in front of the Thrissur electorate. 

Both parties had also demanded the removal of the Additional Director General of Police, Law and Order, M.R. Ajith Kumar, who was in charge of the festival’s security and traffic arrangements.

Both parties had also accused Mr. Ajith Kumar of secretly speaking with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) leadership ahead of the festival, an accusation currently under investigation by the State police. 

Published - October 09, 2024 11:35 am IST