Kerala Assembly Speaker’s office seeks legal opinion on disqualifying Palakkad MLA Rahul Mamkootathil

The Kerala Legislative Assembly will move to disqualify Palakkad MLA Rahul Mamkootathil ahead of the start of the final Budget Session of the 15th Kerala Assembly on January 20.

Speaker A. N. Shamsheer told reporters in Thiruvananthapuram that the recurrent accusations against Mr Mamkootathil had rendered the MLA’s continuation as a member of the House legally, morally, and ethically untenable.

“As per Article 14 of the Constitution, the law applies equally to all. The law does not envisage any special privileges or protections for legislators. The law makes no distinction between an MLA and an ordinary citizen, he said.

Mr. Shamsheer said his office would seek legal opinion on whether the House could disqualify him from membership under the provisions of the Anti-Defection Law. He said the Assembly’s Privileges Committee would examine the matter.

An Assembly official said a preliminary legal opinion received by the Speaker’s Office suggested that disqualifying factors for an MLA included expulsion or voluntary withdrawal from party membership. He said the members could also debate a resolution seeking an errant MLA’s expulsion from the House. He said the Assembly’s Privileges Committee could investigate accusations of misconduct against any legislator and recommend action, including suspension or a reprimand.

Left Democratic Front (LDF) T.K. Ramakrishnan demanded that the Congress seek Mr. Mamkootathil’s resignation as MLA. He said the Congress’s expulsion of the MLA from the party’s primary membership remained primarily on paper, while its leaders gave Mr. Mamkootathil political cover. He noted that Congress leaders escorted the MLA around his constituency in Palakkad, as if it were business as usual.

Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] M V Govindan said the Congress was daring civic society by continuing to provide Mr Mamkootathil with political cover. He told Mr Mamkootathil’s expulsion from the Congress was merely a fig leaf intended to mislead the public.

“The third case is just the tip of the iceberg. More complaints are likely. Mr. Mamkootathil is an apt symbol of the moral degeneration that has gripped Congress and Youth Congress leadership, he said.

Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan said the onus was on Mr. Mamkootathil to resign. “The KPCC had suspended the MLA at the mere whiff of a complaint. It expelled Mr Mamkootathil from the party’s primary membership when the KPCC recieved an email complaint. Congress has acted decisively. Could the LDF say the same about its legislators who are facing comparable charges?” he said.

When asked whether the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) would support an Assembly resolution seeking Mr Mamkootathil’s expulsion from the House, Mr Satheesan said “invented questions” did not deserve an answer. “I was hounded (on social media) for taking an ethical and moral stance on the issue, he added.