Thiruvananthapuram, May 21: The swearing-in of members to the 16th Kerala Legislative Assembly on Thursday became more than a formal constitutional ceremony, as the House witnessed moments reflecting the state’s diversity, simplicity and political culture.
While some newly elected MLAs walked to the Assembly or arrived on bicycles, others took oath in different languages and in the name of God or through solemn affirmation, adding a personal touch to the proceedings.
The day also saw political rivals setting aside the sharp exchanges of the election campaign as leaders greeted and smiled at one another after the ceremony, giving the Assembly a rare moment of warmth and camaraderie.
The swearing-in also saw Chief Minister V D Satheesan disregarding the recent criticism he faced on social media and from within the Congress for mentioning his ‘caste’ while taking oath as CM, and again referring to it while being sworn in as an MLA.
While taking oath as an MLA, the CM said his entire name — Vadasseri Damodara Menon Satheesan — as he had done on Monday while being sworn in as the chief minister.
Following the criticism, Satheesan on Wednesday, at a press conference here after a Cabinet meeting, had defended his use of the caste surname during his swearing-in ceremony, saying he had only mentioned his father’s name and saw nothing wrong in doing so on such an occasion.
The swearing-in also saw Pro-tem Speaker G Sudhakaran getting up from his seat and walking a few paces to congratulate Pinarayi Vijayan as he walked up to the dais after taking oath.
The two, who had engaged in a war of words during the poll campaign after Sudhakaran chose not to renew his CPI(M) membership and contested as a UDF-backed independent candidate from Ambalapuzha constituency, greeted each other and shook hands as if nothing adverse had ever transpired between them.
Sudhakaran, a day ago, had said that he had no enmity with his erstwhile CPI(M) colleague and former chief minister Vijayan, as there was no place for personal grudges in politics.
He had also said that he sees no difference between Vijayan and any other MLA to whom he would be administering the oath of office.
The disregarding of political and personal differences was also seen when former CPI(M) leaders V Kunhikrishnan and T K Govindan, who left the party recently and successfully contested as a UDF-backed independent candidates from the Left strongholds of Payyanur and Taliparamba in Kannur district, walked up to Vijayan and greeted him after taking oath as MLAs.
Besides these friendly gestures, the swearing-in also witnessed several MLAs opting for English, Tamil and a mix of Kannada and Malayalam while taking oath.
Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) MLA from Manjeshwar assembly seat, A K M Ashraf, took the oath in a regional language — a mix of Kannada and Malayalam — while Congress legislator F Raja from Devikulam constituency took oath in Tamil.
On the other hand, senior Congress leaders Ramesh Chennithala, K Muraleedharan and Sunny Joseph, party leaders Mathew Kuzhalnadan and Sandeep Varier, RSP MLA Shibu Baby John, IUML legislator Fyzal Babu and UDF partner Kerala Democratic Party MLA Mani C Kappen took oath in English.
In addition to opting for different languages, legislators also differed in taking oath in the name of God or choosing to solemnly affirm.
Forty-two MLAs chose to solemnly affirm and they included all the CPI(M) and CPI MLAs, Congress legislators V T Balram and Sumesh Achuthan, Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) leaders Shibu Baby John and Vishnu Mohan and Revolutionary Marxist Party of India (RMP) MLA K K Rema.
Besides them, Govindan, Kunhikrishnan and Communist Marxist Party Kerala State Committee (CMP KSC) legislator C P John also chose to solemnly affirm.
The rest of the MLAs, including the three from BJP and one from LDF partner Rashtriya Janata Dal, opted to take oath in the name of God.
The BJP MLAs — Rajeev Chandrasekhar, V Muraleedharan and B B Gopakumar — highlighted their party’s achievement, of marking a space for itself in the state assembly, by walking to the House in the morning after paying floral tributes at the Palayam Martyrs’ Memorial here.
On the other hand, Chandy Oommen, the Congress MLA from Puthuppally constituency and son of former Kerala CM Oommen Chandy, arrived at the assembly complex on a bicycle.
He had opted to campaign on a bicycle for the assembly polls, foregoing the traditional methods of putting up posters, banners and wall paintings.
The other MLAs reached the assembly in their respective official or personal vehicles. (PTI)
