For the first time in the history of the Kerala Legislative Assembly an all-woman panel of chairpersons would chair the House proceedings in the absence of the Speaker and Deputy Speaker. The historic decision was taken after Speaker AN Shamseer, who replaced M B Rajesh in the post, proposed to have an all-woman chairpersons panel and subsequently, two names were suggested by the ruling Left and one by the opposition UDF.

The three-member panel now comprises Asha C K from CPI, U Prathibha from CPI(M) and KK Rema of the Revolutionary Marxist Party of India, an ally of the UDF. Normally, the panel includes at most one woman member. Out of a total of 515 members who have appeared on the panel from the first Kerala Legislative Assembly to the current seventh session of the 15th one, only 32 women have been part of it. Rema's name was suggested by the UDF despite the presence of Congress MLA Uma Thomas in the House. 

Addressing the media before the commencement of the seventh session of the 15th Kerala Legislative Assembly, Shamseer said that he considers it as a fortune to take up the new role of the speaker of the state assembly. “However, it also pains me that I have to start by reading the obituary of my political mentor Kodiyeri Balakrishnan,” he added. 

The ongoing assembly session is being held on the backdrop of the rising protests against the Adani group’s Vizhinjam seaport project. LDF MLA Kadakampally Surendran is reported to have drawn the attention of the assembly towards the issue.

Inputs from PTI