Kerala Assembly opens with tributes to former CM Achuthanandan; Suspended Congress MLA Mamkoottathil attends
(source : ANI) ( Photo Credit : ani)
The 14th session of Kerala’s 15th Assembly kicked off in Thiruvananthapuram on Monday with heartfelt tributes to some of the state’s political giants. Leaders paid their respects to former Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan, who passed away on July 21 at the age of 101, along with other notable figures.
Speaker A N Shamseer and Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan led the obituary references for Achuthanandan. The Chief Minister called his death a huge loss for Kerala and the progressive movement. “Achuthanandan’s passing ends a key chapter in our social and political history,” Vijayan said. Known for his strong push in the communist movement, workers’ rights, environmental causes, and women’s issues, Achuthanandan often rose above party lines to make a real difference.
The session also remembered veteran Congress leader P P Thankachan, who died at 87 in a private hospital in Ernakulam on September 11, and CPI MLA Vazhoor Soman. Soman, aged 72, tragically collapsed and passed away on August 21 while attending a revenue meeting in Thiruvananthapuram.
In other developments, Palakkad MLA Rahul Mamkootathil showed up at the Assembly despite facing serious allegations. Suspended from the Congress party’s primary membership on August 25 over claims of sexual misconduct by three women, he’s now out of the Congress Legislative Party (CLP). CLP leader V D Satheesan informed the Speaker’s office on Friday that Mamkootathil will sit as an independent. The government has roped in a crime branch team to investigate, including an alleged audio recording of a conversation between him and the accusers. He also stepped down as Youth Congress state president and got a seat away from the UDF bloc.
This Kerala Assembly session runs until October 10, spread across three phases: September 15-19, September 29-30, and October 6-10, totaling 12 working days. Lawmakers will tackle key bills like the Kerala General Sales Tax (Amendment) Bill 2024, Kerala Societies Registration Bill 2025, Kerala Guruvayur Devaswom (Amendment) Bill 2025, and Kerala Coir Workers Welfare Cess (Amendment) Bill 2025.
Speaker Shamseer told reporters it’s a focused session on lawmaking, with two days for private members’ bills. The 15th Kerala Legislative Assembly, formed in 2021, has already passed 137 bills in four years. On the agenda too is the Kerala Public Records Bill 2023, which a select committee reviewed after its July introduction, and a bill to replace the Kerala Public Service Commission (Additional Functions in respect of Services under Universities) Amendment Ordinance 2025.
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