Kerala Assembly Session To Begin Today; UDF-LDF Likely To Spar Over Shamseer's Remarks On Lord Ganesha Among Other Issues

The Kerala Assembly session is set to begin today (7 August) days after the row over Speaker AN Shamseer's remarks about Lord Ganesha.

The matter is likely to be brought up in the Assembly by the opposition United Democratic Front (UDF) along with other issues like the rape and murder of a five-year-old girl child in Aluva by a migrant worker, custodial death in Tanur and the action against Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) chief K Sudhakaran in connection with the Monson Mavunkal case.

Shamseer's remarks about Lord Ganesha led to protests by the organisations like the Nair Service Society (NSS), the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and the Hindu Aikyavedi. They have said that such remarks had made him unfit to hold the position of Speaker and called for an apology.

Shamseer has refused to apologise and said that he was only speaking in favour of scientific temper. His party, the CPI(M) has also defended him and the police booked cases for unlawful assembly against 1000 NSS workers for carrying out a procession to protest against the remarks in Thiruvananthapuram.

The row intensified after CPI(M) Kerala state secretary MV Govindan in a press conference with reporters implied that Lord Ganesha is a myth while Allah is not.

He later stated that he did not call Lord Ganesha a myth.

The Congress, which extended support to the NSS on the issue, is likely to ask for an apology from Shamseer and urge the LDF government to drop the cases.

The government is expected to bring a Bill to replace the ordinance enacted for the safety of healthcare personnel after the death of Vandana Das.

The Assembly will also pay tribute to former chief minister Oommen Chandy and former Speaker Vakkom Purushothaman, who passed away recently.

Also Read: Of Gods, Myths, And Marxists

Kerala: MV Govindan Makes U-Turn, Now Says He Did Not Say Lord Ganesha Is A Myth