The Kerala Assembly continued to witness unruly scenes over the Sabarimala gold theft case, as in the previous session, with the Opposition and ruling sides locking horns soon after the House proceedings began on Wednesday (January 22, 2026).
Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan informed the Speaker that the Opposition would continue its protest inside the Assembly, as it did during the last House session, seeking the resignation of Devaswom Minister V.N. Vasavan and the expulsion of the Travancore Devaswom Board president.
The Opposition members then trooped into the well of the House, raising placards and a banner, blocking the view of the Speaker as soon as the Assembly proceedings began. The Opposition also did not give a Rule 50 notice, as demanded by the Speaker, to discuss the issue in the Zero Hour. Following this, the ruling side members rose from their seats and marched into the well of the House. The two sides then engaged in sloganeering, accusing each other in the case.
Meanwhile, Speaker A.N. Shamseer rushed through the House proceedings, although the Calling Attention motion, submissions, and discussion on the Motion of Thanks to the Governor’s address were disrupted by the shouting of slogans by the MLAs from both sides.
Minister for Local Self-Governments M.B. Rajesh slammed the Opposition, stating that disrupting the Assembly proceedings without holding a meaningful discussion was “a sign of the weakness” of the Opposition.
“If the Opposition really wants to know who was behind the gold theft case in Sabarimala, they should ask for the details of the case from Adoor Prapash, MP, Unnikrishnan Potti (the prime accused in the case), and Sonia Gandhi,” he said.
Later, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan stated that the Opposition “did not genuinely wish” to participate in the Assembly proceedings and suggested adjourning the proceedings for the day. The Speaker then informed the House that it would be reconvened on January 27 to discuss the Motion of Thanks on the Governor’s policy address.
Published – January 22, 2026 11:00 am IST
