Allegations in the ongoing gold smuggling case in Kerala has proved costly for the Pinarayi Vijayan-led state government. In the Kerala assembly session on Monday, the Congress-led UDF raised its no-confidence motion against the CM.
This is the first time in 15 years such a motion was moved. The opposition levelled that the state government was 'hijacked' by the gold smuggling gang.
No-confidence motion against Pinarayi Vijayan
The no-confidence motion moved by Congress MLA VD Satheesan was up for discussion at the Kerala Assembly session on Monday. As VD Satheesan moved the motion he took a leaf out of Shakespeare's Julius Caeser, "For Brutus is an honourable man- this is what Mark Antony said in his speech in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. I would like to say that Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan is an honourable man," The New Indian Express reported.
Speaker P Sreeramakrishnan allowed the motion to be discussed and allotted 5 hours to it. The no-confidence motion was raised in light of the many allegations against Pinarayi Vijayan's links to the infamous gold smuggling case.
Leader of Opposition Ramesh Chennithala said during the session that the speaker shouldn't be allowed to chair the house as a no-confidence motion was moved, according to an ANI report. However, the speaker dismissed the charge and said that the notice should have been given 14 days ago and so the motion will not be allowed.
The Kerala Assembly, however, passed a 'unanimous resolution' to demand the withdrawal of the Union cabinet's decision to lease the international airport in Thiruvananthapuram to Adani Enterprises Ltd.
In the Assembly, CPI(M)'s Left Democratic Front has 91 members and the Congress-led United Democratic Front has 45 members.
