By IANS,
Thiruvananthapuram : The Kerala assembly witnessed chaotic scenes Tuesday when a Communist legislator raised questions about Hindu and Islamic spiritual leaders.
Referring to Mata Amritananda Mayi, Sai Baba, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) chief Pannakad Mohammed Ali Shihab Thangal, Prakasan Master of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) asked if the government proposed to look into their activities.
Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan replied that such issues would be looked into only if there were specific complaints.
Prakasan then asked if the activities of Thangal would be probed because the matter was raised last month by Aryadan Shoukat, son of senior Congress legislator Aryadan Mohammed.
Angry IUML legislators immediately rushed towards the speaker’s podium, demanding the withdrawal of the remarks concerning Thangal.
Speaker K. Radhakrishnan said he would study the statements and do the needful. Dissatisfied with his reply, other opposition legislators also marched to the speaker’s podium.
In the melee, opposition leader Oommen Chandy got up and demanded that all the questions related to the spiritual leaders be withdrawn.
“These questions clearly lower the image and prestige of these four leaders who are highly respected in society and hence these remarks should be removed,” said Chandy.
Giving into the demands, Speaker Radhakrishnan ruled that all the remarks and questions related to them would be withdrawn.