A special Assembly session held at the old Legislature Complex on Thursday April 27,2017 to mark the 60th anniversary of the State Assembly saw ruling and Opposition members turning self-critical and exhorting to focus on legislation than pursuing frivolous issues.
From the nonagenarian V.S. Achuthanandan to the debutant Vijayan Pillai, the members voiced their concern over the waning quality of debates and dwindling focus on legislation
To start with, Speaker P. Sreeramakrishnan reminded the lawmakers that the lower echelons of the police have still not eschewed their colonial overhang and the common man is still afraid of seeking its assistance. Time has come for an attitudinal shift, he said.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan reminisced how the legislature accrued a representative nature and the State set the course for revolutionary legislation like those on land reforms, education, agrarian relations, health and decentralised governance.
Leader of the Opposition Ramesh Chennithala went a step ahead and pointed out that the need of the hour was consensus and not confrontation on development. Time has come for political parties to have an introspection on changing their style of functioning, he said and reminded how Parliament took a cue from the Subject Committees in the Assembly to form standing committees for budget scrutiny. The State has many firsts to its credit, he said.
M.K. Muneer and K.B. Ganesh Kumar had more reasons to cheer about. For their father the late C.H. Mohammed Koya and R. Balakrishna Pillai had actively involved in the discussions and debates that enlivened the hall in the past.
Senior member C.K. Nanu reminisced the first Chief Minister E.M.S. Naboodiripad taking part in an anti-Emergency protest along with him before the Secretariat. K.M. Mani stressed the need for framing legislation to meet emerging challenges and scrapping obsolete laws.
For Mr. Achuthanandan, the session was not just nostalgic, but a reminder to be more alert in framing laws to meet fresh challenges. Former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy wanted the House to meet at the hall at least once a year and said the limited space and huddled seats reduced the distance between members and helped to develop better camaraderie.
The only dissenting note was from O. Rajagopal, who accused Mr.Vijayan of blaming the RSS for the death of Gandhiji. And this drew mild protests from members in a feel-good milieu.
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