UDF MLAs disrupt Kerala Assembly proceedings; House adjourned
Thiruvananthapuram (PTI): Members of the opposition UDF on Thursday disrupted the proceedings in the Kerala Assembly over the Left government's refusal to roll back the budget proposals to levy cess on fuel and liquor sales, leading to the adjournment of the House for the day.
The ongoing session of the Assembly is scheduled to resume on February 27, Assembly sources said.
As soon as the Question Hour began in the morning, a group of UDF MLAs trooped into the well of the House raising slogans alleging that the proposals in the budget to impose social security cess on fuel and liquor sales was nothing but "tax looting" and urged the government to withdraw it at the earliest.
Holding placards and a banner, they stood in front of Speaker A N Shamseer's dias and continued sloganeering.
Though the speaker repeatedly asked them to go back to their seats, the UDF MLAs were not ready to heed and continued with their protest.
The Speaker went ahead with the Question and Answer session for 30 minutes but was forced to suspend it as the protest intensified.
Later, Shamseer hurriedly took up other businesses of the day and adjourned the House.
Leading the UDF members out of the House, Leader of Opposition, V D Satheesan said Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Finance Minister K N Balagopal could not see the plight of common men and understand their feelings due to the "arrogance of power" and ego.
Satheesan urged the state government not to adopt an adamant stand on fuel price cess, claiming that the prices of petrol and diesel have put burden on the common man.
He also said the Congress-led UDF would continue their protests till the government rolls back the cess and tax proposals imposed on the people.
Earlier in the day, the UDF MLAs marched to the Assembly to attend the session as part of the protest.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
K’taka HC judge whose controversial remarks triggered controversy expresses regret before open court
Bengaluru: Karnataka High Court judge, Justice V Srishananda, on Saturday expressed regret in open court after facing backlash over his controversial remarks in his recent court hearings, reported Bar and Bench.
Two purported video clips from Justice V Srishananda’s court hearing that show him making inappropriate comments went viral across social media platforms.
On Saturday, Justice Srishananda invited members of the Advocates Association, Bengaluru, and senior lawyers to his courtroom at 2:30 PM, where he read out a note expressing regret for inappropriate comments.
Quoting Advocates Association President Vivek Subba Reddy, Bar and Bench wrote, “He expressed regret for the comments and clarified that it was not his intention to offend any community or members of the Bar. He also requested the association to relay this message to all members of the Bar.”
Reddy further stated, “We also advised him to encourage young lawyers in the courtroom and refrain from making any irrelevant remarks during hearings.”
Another senior lawyer present during the session confirmed to the legal news portal that Justice Srishananda also addressed comments directed at a woman lawyer, who was seen in one of the videos being reprimanded by the judge. The judge Justice Srishananda clarified that his remarks were not intended to target her (woman lawyer) specifically, but rather pertained to the appellant she was representing. “He explained that his comment was meant to imply that the appellant seemed to know a lot about the other party,” said the lawyer.
In addition, Justice Srishananda assured those present that he would avoid making such comments in the future.
The controversy came to light on September 19, when a video clip from an August 28 Court hearing surfaced on social media, showing Justice Srishananda referring to a Muslim-majority sub-locality in Bengaluru’s Goripalya as "Pakistan." Hours later, another video from the same courtroom emerged, in which the judge was seen making a gender-insensitive remark.
Following outrage over the viral videos, a Supreme Court bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, along with Justices Sanjiv Khanna, BR Gavai, Surya Kant, and Hrishikesh Roy, on September 20 took a suo motu cognizance and sought a report from the Karnataka High Court Registrar General in connection with the viral video.
