Stormy Kerala assembly session expected

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM - The eight-day Kerala assembly session beginning Tuesday is expected to be stormy, with the Congress-led opposition expected to raise issues like a recent job scam and a lottery scam among other issues.

“This is going to be a special session for legislation with as many as 26 ordinances waiting (to be ratified). The session begins on the 21st and ends on the 30th,” assembly Speaker K. Radhakrishnan told reporters here Sunday.

The Congress, enthused by one of its biggest electoral victories in the recent local bodies elections, where it won more than 50 percent of the seats, however plans to put the government on the mat.

“We will raise the issue of the job scam when those who did not appear in the eligibility tests conducted by the Kerala Public Service Commission managed to get permanent government jobs in the revenue department,” Congress legislator K. Shivadasan Nair told IANS.

The lottery issue will also be raised, he said. Last month, a court had asked police to register a case of cheating against “lottery king” Santiago Martin and his associate John Kennedy. The Congress alleges that the Left Democratic Front government has links with the “lottery mafia” headed by Martin.

However, the speaker was confident that the session will proceed smoothly.

“I do not think that a repeat of what was seen in the recent parliament session will happen here. I expect things would be smooth and the assembly would be able to do its work,” said Radhakrishnan.

The entire Nov 9-Dec 13 winter session of parliament was washed out due to the opposition clamour for a joint parliamentary probe (JPC) into the 2G spectrum allocation that forced A. Raja to step down as the communications minister. The government has rejected a JPC probe on the issue.