Kerala Assembly today witnessed uproarious scenes with ruling and opposition MLAs almost coming to blows, for the first time in the state Legislature’s history.Trouble began after the Opposition UDF demanded that CPM leader and state Electricity minister AK Balan should quit as he was sentenced to two years in jail by a court on Monday in connection with a case of obstructing rail traffic during an agitation in 2000, and also issued an arrest warrant for non-appearance in the court.The UDF MLAs pointed to the precedence set by ministers in the earlier government of quitting even when courts had only made adverse remarks against them.Chief Minister VS Achuthanandan asserted that there were no comparable circumstances warranting Balan’s resignation. VS also said the court had insulted the Legislature by issuing a warrant against a minister who was attending the Assembly in session for not appearing before it, and wanted the house to take it seriously. Law minister K Vijayakumar was hooted down when he rose to speak.A scuffle broke out between Left MLA Saju Paul and KK Shaju of the UDF, and leaders from both sides rushed in to prevent things from getting worse.The Left pushed a resolution saying the court had acted contemptuously. The Opposition staged a walkout in protest and vowed to launch a campaign against the Left for pushing the resolution.
