CPM member agitated over listing of question

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A ‘star,’ or rather the absence of it, triggered the first row in the Assembly on Monday. Minutes into the Question Hour, V Sivankutty, who was slated to ask the first question, rose in protest saying that his intended first question, on the revelations of K A Rauf in the ice cream parlour sex scandal, was missing from the list of ‘starred’ questions. Instead, it was replaced by the second of his two queries, regarding the multi-crore Vizhinjam seaport project, he said. The question pertaining to Rauf’s disclosures was shunted to the ‘unstarred’ list of questions which do not come up on the floor of the House, Sivankutty said. ‘’That question should have come first,’’ Sivankutty bristled, and the Opposition Bench went into uproar alleging that the ice cream parlour issue had been deliberately pushed under. With Sivankutty on protest mode and declining to ask question to Ports Minister K Babu on the Vizhinjam Project, Speaker G Karthikeyan read out the names of B Sathyan and S Sarma, the next in line, to ask their questions. Although Sarma requested the Speaker to allow Sivankutty his second question, the Speaker declined. Later, ruling on the matter, Karthikeyan said that the House had the right to decide where the questions should go. Sivankutty had given notice for two starred questions - on Rauf and Vizhinjam port - on Monday. The starred question on Rauf was listed as unstarred based on rules which clearly stipulate when a starred question can be transferred to the unstarred list, the Speaker said. The priority list is decided by draw of lots, but it is the name of the questioner that is decided by it and not the questions, he said. He also listed four instances when starred questions were removed to the unstarred list during the tenure of the LDF Government.