Kerala's Congress-led UDF stages walkout from Assembly, Alleges backdoor appointments

Kerala's United Democratic Front (UDF) opposition which is led by Congress has staged a walk-out from the Kerala Assembly on Tuesday over the alleged backdoor appointments by the state government.

A notice has been given by Congress MLA Shafi Paramapil to move an adjournment motion against the alleged backdoor appointments conducted by the government instead of recruiting candidates from the public service commission (PSC) rank list. The Congres leader explained how a candidate, Anu, in Thiruvananthapuram committed suicide over the denial of a job despite her name getting shortlisted in the PSC rank list.

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Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan calls the incident "unfortunate"

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan replied by calling it an "unfortunate" incident. "It is the government's policy to recruit maximum people from the PSC rank list. The government has given employment to 1,51,513 people registered through employment exchange in the last four years," he said.

Assembly Speaker P Sreeramakrishnan denied 'leave for the motion' after the Chief Minister gave his explanations. In turn, the Opposition walked out in protest.

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Earlier, Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala had alleged that most of the illegal appointments were carried out by the IT department, a portfolio handled by the Kerala Chief Minister himself. He questioned the status of the probe by an inquiry committee kept to look into the appointments made by former IT secretary M Sivasankar.

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On January 8, The Congress-led UDF opposition had boycotted Governor Arif Mohammad Khan's policy address in the Kerala Assembly on the first day of the budget session. In a massive ruckus that ensued as soon as the Assembly session began, Congress-led Opposition demanded the resignation of Speaker P Sreeramakrishnan who was facing allegations in connection with the dollar smuggling case. In the visuals from inside the Assembly, opposition legislators were seen holding banners and posters, and were heard raising slogans against Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and the Speaker.As the Governor began his speech detailing the achievements and performances, the sloganeering continued. "I am doing my constitutional duty...it is expected that no obstruction will be created while the Governor is performing constitutional duties. You have already raised enough slogans... Don't interrupt me," the Governor told the opposition. The protesting opposition MLAs then staged a walked out of the Assembly hall and staged a sit-in at its portal.

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(With ANI Inputs)