UDF to move no-confidence motion against LDF govt

Thiruvananthapuram: The UDF has decided to intensify the stir with a demand for resignation of chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan and speaker P Sreeramakrishnan, in connection with the ongoing gold smuggling scam.
UDF convener Benny Behanan said that it is for the first time in the history of the legislative assembly that a speaker’s name has been linked to a person who has committed such a grave crime. The UDF is planning to move a resolution to remove the speaker from the post in the upcoming assembly session that will be held for a day or two for passing the finance bill.
The UDF plans to go ahead with sustained political attack against the chief minister and the speaker. For moving a resolution for the removal of the speaker, a 14-day notice will have to be served. If that is the case, the notice will have to be served this week itself. For moving a no-confidence motion against the government, notice will have to be moved three days in advance. The UDF has entrusted the leader of opposition Ramesh Chennithala with both the moves.
Along with allegations against the the chief minister’s office on the basis of reports that M Sivasankar, the former principal secretary to chief minister, had links with the key accused in the gold smuggling case, allegations were raised against Sreeramakrishnan too. The speaker is under fire for accepting an invitation from Swapna Suresh to inaugurate an automobile workshop. Sreeramakrishnan said that the accused was known to him as a ‘diplomat’ and a ‘secretary’ at the UAE consulate in the capital, because of which he had accepted the invitation.