Kerala politicians stand by actor Mammootty facing online harassment, call him state's pride
Thiruvananthapuram, May 16: Politicians from the Left and the Congress party in Kerala have rallied behind Malayalam superstar Mammootty who is facing online harassment from certain right wing sympathisers in connection with one of his movies that had been released two years ago.
The controversy erupted after posts on on social media platforms claimed that the movie 'Puzhu' released in 2022 was an anti-Brahmanical one.
Some of them even used Mammootty's birth name, Muhammed Kutty, to criticise the national award-winning actor in connection with the film, which was a psychological drama directed by debutant filmmaker Ratheena P T.
The row erupted following a recent interview given by the woman director's husband to an online channel in which he claimed that the movie was against a particular community and criticised Mammootty over doing the film.
Rubbishing the social media campaign against the legendary actor, several persons including state Ministers V Sivankutty and K Rajan and AICC General Secretary K C Venugopal came out in support of Mammootty.
Senior CPI (M) leader and General Education Minister V Sivankutty put up a Facebook post sharing a photo of of him with the actor, who has won three national awards, among many other recognitions.
"Mammootty is Malayalees' pride," the minister said in the FB post.
CPI leader and Revenue Minister K Rajan also described Mammootty as the "Pride of Kerala and Malayalees".
The minister alleged that "Sangh Parivar politics" was behind such campaigns and said that such propaganda would not reap its desired results in the state.
"This is Kerala," he pointed out to those behind the campaign. Recalling a similar campaign unleashed against eminent director Kamal some time ago, the minister said the "the Sanghi politics of calling Mammootty as Mohammed Kutty, Kamal as Kamaluddin and Vijay as Joseph Vijay (top Tamil film star who has a large fan following in Kerala) will not reap any result here."
Sharing similar views, AICC General Secretary K C Venugopal also strongly supported Mammootty and said the secular society of the state would not support such propaganda.
He said no matter how hard they try to brand a person who has clear political views and acting skills, the people of the state won't support them.
In an FB post, the Congress leader further said that it is the duty of Kerala society to take care of the actor without being affected by the "poison of hate campaigns".
A person like Mammootty cannot be confined to the compartments of religion and caste, he said, adding that vested interests are doing so with a clear political agenda.
"Mammootty is being Mohammed Kutty only in the contemptuous minds of those hate campaigners," the leader added.
The actor is yet to react to the controversy.
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Resolution seeking Speaker Birla's removal follows rules, debate must take place: Congress
New Delhi (PTI): With the Lok Sabha likely to take up next week a notice seeking Speaker Om Birla's removal from office, the Congress on Friday said the resolution follows the rules and conventions, with opposition MPs having cited specific instances of “partisan behaviour” by the speaker, which call for a debate.
As Parliament meets for the second phase of the Budget session on March 9, the Lok Sabha is likely to take up the notice to move a resolution to remove Birla from office for allegedly acting in a “blatantly partisan” manner.
Speaking with PTI, Congress general secretary in-charge of communications, Jairam Ramesh, said, “All the opposition parties other than the Trinamool Congress have signed the motion for the removal of the speaker. Let us see. They have said it's going to be taken up on March 9.”
He added that 118 opposition MPs belonging to all political parties, barring the Trinamool, signed the notice.
“It’s a healthy, democratic practice. We have submitted a motion, which is according to the rules, according to the conventions… There have been previous occasions, for example, in 1954, when the combined opposition strength was hardly 50, and the Congress had 364 MPs in a House of 489. A no-confidence motion was brought against the speaker, the great G V Mavalankar," Ramesh said.
“These are democratic instruments, instruments of parliamentary democracy. The opposition has every right. We'll have a debate, let's see what happens after that," the Congress leader said.
“We had given specific instances of partisan behaviour (by the speaker), while false allegations were levelled against the opposition members. We have given the context, and a debate should take place,” Ramesh said.
The Congress has issued a whip for its MPs, mandating them to be present in the Lok Sabha from March 9 to 11, when the notice seeking Birla's removal is likely to be taken up.
The Lok Sabha will witness a rare moment, most likely next Monday, when Birla will not chair the proceedings but will be seated among the members as the House takes up the notice seeking his removal from office.
According to the rules and laid down procedures, Birla will have the right to defend himself when the resolution is discussed by the Lower House.
He will also have the right to vote against the resolution, Constitution expert P D T Achary said.
He said that while Birla will not chair the proceedings when the resolution comes up before the House, he will be seated in the prominent rows in the Treasury benches.
In fact, Birla had stopped chairing the House the day the notice was submitted, taking a stand.
At least 118 opposition members had submitted the notice to move a resolution to remove Birla from office for not allowing Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and other opposition leaders to speak in the House on the motion of thanks to the president's address, as well as for suspending eight opposition MPs.
Congress deputy leader in the Lok Sabha, Gaurav Gogoi, chief whip K Suresh and whip Mohammed Javed submitted the notice to the Lok Sabha Secretariat on behalf of several opposition parties, including the Samajwadi Party and the DMK. Trinamool MPs, however, did not sign the notice.
Article 96 of the Constitution bars a speaker or a deputy speaker from presiding over the House while a resolution for his removal from office is under consideration.
The speaker has a constitutional right to defend himself if the resolution is discussed in the Lok Sabha.
At least two Lok Sabha members have to sign the notice to move a resolution for the speaker's removal. Any number of members can sign the notice, but a minimum of two is mandatory.
The speaker can be removed from office if a resolution is passed by the House by a simple majority. Article 94C of the Constitution has provisions for such a move.
Article 96 allows the speaker to defend himself or herself in the House.
The language of the proposed resolution is usually examined by the deputy speaker, but since the present Lok Sabha does not have a deputy speaker, it may be examined by the senior-most member of the panel of chairpersons.
The panel helps to run the House in the speaker’s absence.
The opposition resolution has alleged that Speaker Birla acted in a "blatantly partisan" manner in conducting the business of the House and "abused" the constitutional office he occupies.
Three Lok Sabha speakers – G V Mavlankar (1954), Hukam Singh (1966) and Balram Jakhar (1987) – faced no-confidence motions in the past, which were all negatived.
