The Monsoon Session of the Kerala Assembly began on Monday with an Opposition walkout over the issue of the recurring deaths of adivasi children, including infants and new-born babies, due to malnutrition in Attappadi in Palakkad district.
The Opposition walkout was in protest against the refusal of the Speaker to allow discussions on an adjournment motion on “serious” issue. A minimum of 40 children have died in the tribal colonies of Attappadi due to malnutrition, forcing certain adivasi outfits to allege that these deaths are not innocent tragedies but are part of a genocidal programme.
Moving the notice for the adjournment motion, CPI(M) member AK Balan, also the Scheduled Tribes Development Minister in the previous lDF Government, said the UDF Government had lost its moral right to continue in office as it had — by denying the children their basic needs — violated their right to survival guaranteed under the Constitution.
Stating that the number of infants and newborns who had died in the tribal colonies of Attappadi could come to over 200 as per unofficial statistics, Balan charged the Government with total failure in addressing the problem despite the fact that it had received enough information in advance on the deteriorating health and hygiene situation in the tribal colonies.
“There is no coordination among the Government departments concerned with adivasi affairs. Things are moving in a snail’s pace despite the deteriorating conditions. This situation prevails not just in Attappadi but in other tribal areas also. Mass deaths can be the result if this situation is allowed to continue,” Balan warned.
Replying to the notice for the adjournment motion, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy held that both the Congress-led UDF and the CPI(M)-led lDF which had been ruling the State for the past several decades alternately were responsible for the tragic occurrences in the tribal areas. He asked the Opposition not to politicise the issue.
“There is no time to blame each other,” Chandy said, adding that steps were now being taken to supply nutritious food and to address the health problems in the adivasi areas. He sought the cooperation of all in implementing a Rs 112-crore development package for Attappadi announced by Union Minister Jairam Ramesh during his recent visit there.
Following Chandy’s reply, the Speaker refused leave for the adjournment motion. The Opposition walked out in protest against this decision. However, before the Opposition walked out, Chandy said the Government was ready to discuss the matter on any day of the session.
The House witnessed noisy scenes at the very start of the day’s proceedings after TV Rajesh of the CPI(M) wanted to know whether the police had been tapping the phone of State Congress chief Ramesh Chennithala, who was also an MlA. According to NSS general secretary G Sukumaran Nair, Chennithala had told him earlier that his phone was being tapped.
Home Minister Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan rejected the allegation saying that neither he nor the Police Department had received any complaint from Chennithala regarding phone-tapping. “Phones of people engaged in serious crimes could be under surveillance but their names cannot be revealed. But phones of political leaders are not being tapped,” he said.
“This Government assumed office on May 18, 2011. Since then no such activity has taken place. I will have to check the records to say whether such activity was going on before that (when the lDF was in power),” Thiruvanchoor added inviting noisy protests from the Opposition benches.