Kerala Assembly: Ruckus over Sabarimala gold theft row rocks House again; Speaker cuts short day’s business

Kerala Assembly faces chaos over Sabarimala gold theft protests; Speaker curtails session amid demands for MGNREGS restoration.

Kerala Speaker A.N. Shamseer wound up the day’s proceedings in the Legislative Assembly in about 50 minutes on Thursday (February 5, 2026) with the Opposition Congress-led UDF continuing its protests over the Sabarimala gold theft row inside the House. The Budget Session of the Assembly will reconvene on February 23, the Speaker said.

During the Question Hour, which began at 9 a.m., UDF members trooped into the well of the House and settled there shouting slogans. Amid the pandemonium, the Kerala Appropriation Bill was introduced and passed without discussion. The Kerala Assembly adopted a resolution demanding that the Union government repeal the Viksit Bharat – Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) and restore the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS).

Minister for General Education V. Sivankutty made a statement regarding the appointment of differently abled persons in aided schools. The final batch of supplementary demands for grants in the 2025-2026 Budget also was passed.

On the arrival of Mr. Shamseer into the Assembly hall, Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan rose to announce that the Congress-led UDF was planning to ratchet up the protests. “The CPI(M) was trying to erase the gold theft case out of fear that its leaders would go to prison,” alleged Mr. Satheesan.

He said that the UDF has been pursuing its agitation seeking the resignation of the Devaswom Minister V.N. Vasavan and “a stop to the pressure” being put on the special investigation team (SIT) by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and the Home department. “Once the accused are out on statutory bail, there is every chance that the evidence would be erased,” Mr. Satheesan said. As yet, the evidence has not been properly collected in the 90 days of investigation, he alleged.

He also stated that the UDF members had entered the Speaker’s dais the other day to “retrieve a banner” confiscated by the Watch and Ward staff.