Kerala Assembly: CPI(M) moves breach of privilege notice against Satheesan for ‘demeaning’ Education Minister

Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] legislator V. Joy on Wednesday (January 28, 2026) moved a breach of privilege notice in the Kerala Assembly against Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan for allegedly “demeaning” General Education Minister V. Sivankutty in public.

Mr. Joy’s notice, moved under Rule 154 of the Rules of Procedure of the Kerala Legislative Assembly, stems from Mr. Satheesan’s allegedly “rude” remarks about Mr. Sivankutty and the Left Democratic Front (LDF) Cabinet at a Congress protest meeting in front of the Secretariat on Tuesday.

Mr. Sivankutty’s politically stormy contention that the special investigation team (SIT) should question Congress leader Sonia Gandhi for “hosting” the prime suspects in the Sabarimala gold theft case at her high-security and sparingly accessible residence in New Delhi apparently provoked Mr. Satheesan.

Mr. Satheesan said Kerala “grieved” that Mr. Sivankutty was in charge of school education, and cast doubts on his eligibility to govern the Education department. Mr. Satheesan also recalled Mr. Sivankutty’s attempt to disrupt the UDF government’s Budget presentation in 2015, including climbing on the Speaker’s dias and allegedly destroying Assembly property.

Mr. Joy accused Mr. Satheesan of seeking to discredit the elected Cabinet as a “set of ignoramuses”. He said Mr. Satheesan had “debased” the office of Excise Minister M.B. Rajesh by allegedly suggesting that it was “a relief” that Mr. Sivankutty did not handle the Excise portfolio.

Mr. Joy noted that moving a breach of privilege notice against a Leader of the Opposition was “a first in the history of the Kerala Legislative Assembly”. He stated that Mr. Satheesan’s “invective” against Mr. Sivankutty came barely weeks after Mr. Satheesan had “lauded” the General Education Minister for conducting the Kerala Kalolsavam 2026 (State school arts festival) without any hitch and in a child- and parent-friendly manner. 

Mr. Joy said such a move, however, did have precedence. “The late CPI(M) State secretary and former Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan moved a breach of privilege notice against P.C. George for denigrating K.R. Gouri and T.V. Thomas, both party veterans,” he said.

Meanwhile, Speaker A.N. Shamseer’s office said it was vetting the notice and the Chair would refer it to the Ethics and Privileges Committee.