Ruckus in Assembly over CM's Shiv Sena remark

Thiruvananthapuram: The Assembly was disrupted on Friday with the opposition demanding Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan withdraw his statement on Shiv Sena activists accusing them of being hired by the Congress to thrash people.

"Vijayan should withdraw his statement and if not, the speaker should ensure that the remarks should be removed from assembly records," Leader of Opposition Ramesh Chennithala said.

On Wednesday, at least six Shiv Sainiks on the seafront in Kochi, went on a rampage, chased and attacked couples in full media glare even as police allegedly turned a blind eye to the whole episode.

But Vijayan was in no mood to withdraw his statement. He asked the opposition why were they are so intolerant whenever he spoke about the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) or Shiv Sena.

Chennithala pointed out that never in the history of the assembly has any Chief Minister stepped into the well of the house.

In response, Vijayan said: "You (speaker) have seen what happened and this statement from the opposition is nothing but blatant lies."

With this the entire opposition boycotted the day's session and Chennithala after leading the opposition out of the house told the media that Speaker P.Sreeramakrishnan was behaving in a partisan manner.

It all started on Thursday after Congress legislator Hibi Eden sought leave for an adjournment motion on the incident where angry "Shiv Sena activists donned the role of moral police" at the famous Marine Drive park in Kochi on Wednesday evening.

"The Shiv Sena activists had informed the media about the programme much before and they went around chasing and harassing couples who were relaxing in the park, which is a a must-visit place for even foreign tourists," he said.

"Where were your police officials and the intelligence people? When these anti-social groups were on the rampage, your police officials watched it from the sidelines. Is this the way you have asked your police to act," asked an angry Eden.

Replying to this, Vijayan agreed that what happened at the park was a shame for the state.

"The police official on duty has been suspended from service, while seven others have been transferred, as it amounted to dereliction of duty. We will not tolerate moral policing and there will be no bar on friends to sit together in parks and other similar places. Eight people have already been arrested and the police have been told to act tough against 'moral policemen'," said Vijayan.

Leader of Opposition Ramesh Chennithala also spoke tough and condemned the callous attitude of the police force.

But things went out of hand when Vijayan hit back at the opposition and asked if the Shiv Sena activists had the tacit support of the Congress and if they were hired by the Congress party to do what they did at the park.

Soon after this statement the situation in the house went out of control.