Kerala Assembly to witness no-confidence motion and joint resolutions on Monday

A one-day session of Kerala Assembly to be held on Monday to pass the Finance Bill is likely to witness the opposition joining hands against the government over the Thiruvananthapuram airport issue.

At the same time, a no-confidence motion will be moved against the government alleging nexus of Chief Minister's office with the gold smuggling racket.

Congress MLA V D Satheesan had given the notice for no-confidence motion stating that the assembly has lost confidence in the Pinarayi Vijayan-led government and hence permission may be given to present the notice.

Sources said that a five-hour discussion might be allowed on the no-confidence motion notice.

The ruling left front is having a comfortable majority of about 90 seats in 140-member Assembly and hence the no-confidence motion did not pose much threat to the government.

At the same time, an all-party meeting convened by the Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Thursday decided to pass a joint resolution in the state Assembly to protest against the centre's decision to privatise Thiruvananthapuram airport. The Congress will be supporting the resolution, while the lone BJP member may not back it.

Though the opposition had given a notice seeking removal of Speaker P Sreeramakrishan for his alleged links with gold smuggling accused former UAE consulate employee Swapna Suresh, that notice would not be considered as it did not meet the mandatory requirement that such notices should be given 14 days in advance.