Kerala Assembly: Ruckus over Sabarimala gold theft row rocks House again; Speaker cuts short day’s business

Kerala Speaker A.N. Shamseer wound up the day’s proceedings in the Legislative Assembly in about 50 minutes on Thursday (February 5, 2026) with the Opposition Congress-led UDF continuing its protests over the Sabarimala gold theft row inside the House. The Budget Session of the Assembly will reconvene on February 23, the Speaker said.

During the Question Hour, which began at 9 a.m., UDF members trooped into the well of the House and settled there shouting slogans. Amid the pandemonium, the Kerala Appropriation Bill was introduced and passed without discussion. The Kerala Assembly adopted a resolution demanding that the Union government repeal the Viksit Bharat – Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) and restore the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS).

Minister for General Education V. Sivankutty made a statement regarding the appointment of differently abled persons in aided schools. The final batch of supplementary demands for grants in the 2025-2026 Budget also was passed.

On the arrival of Mr. Shamseer into the Assembly hall, Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan rose to announce that the Congress-led UDF was planning to ratchet up the protests. “The CPI(M) was trying to erase the gold theft case out of fear that its leaders would go to prison,” alleged Mr. Satheesan.

He said that the UDF has been pursuing its agitation seeking the resignation of the Devaswom Minister V.N. Vasavan and “a stop to the pressure” being put on the special investigation team (SIT) by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and the Home department. “Once the accused are out on statutory bail, there is every chance that the evidence would be erased,” Mr. Satheesan said. As yet, the evidence has not been properly collected in the 90 days of investigation, he alleged.

He also stated that the UDF members had entered the Speaker’s dais the other day to “retrieve a banner” confiscated by the Watch and Ward staff. 

“We have protested in a peaceful manner inside the House. The protest we have launched inside the Assembly will now be taken outside. The UDF will continue the protests very strongly,” Mr. Satheesan said. 

Speaker’s response

Mr. Shamseer said the LDF government had informed the Chair that it was prepared for a discussion on the Sabarimala gold theft case, but the Opposition was not agreeing to it. “It is unfortunate that the Opposition is reluctant even after the government stated that it was ready for a discussion on the matter if the Opposition gave notice for it,” he said.

On the protests over the past few days, Mr. Shamseer said that the UDF members had “rushed up to his dais as if they were trying to topple a police barricade.” He accused the UDF members of attempting to beat the Watch and Ward staff with the banner pole. He also slammed the Opposition for “belittling the Chair out in the street”. Mr. Shamseer reminded the Opposition that he was not “air-dropped” into the Assembly, and that he “also possessed political experience.”

Introducing the Appropriation Bill, Finance Minister K.N. Balagopal said the Opposition has “thrown a challenge” to the people of Kerala by not participating in the discussions on the Kerala Budget. The Opposition was also persisting with its adamant stand when national-level developments such as the replacement of the MGNREGS framework with VB-G-RAM-G and the trade deal with the U.S. called for serious discussions in the Kerala Assembly as they affected lakhs of people in the State, he said.

Mr. Balagopal accused the UDF of “insulting” the Assembly through its disruptions. 

Minister for Local Self Government M.B. Rajesh rose to point out that the High Court had expressed full satisfaction in the SIT probe in the Sabarimala case. “The court has stated that the investigation is progressing in the right direction. What the UDF really intended was that the investigation should not lead to the real culprits in the case,” he said.