Thiruvananthapuram: In the backdrop of the coronavirus scare, the Kerala Assembly on Friday cut short its ongoing session scheduled till this month-end.
The decision in this regard was taken at the Business Advisory Committee (BAC) meeting of the assembly.
Leader of the Opposition Ramesh Chennithala attacked the government saying there was no need to cut short the session even as the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha sessions were going on.
He described the government decision as “autocratic” and said it was a “black chapter” in the history of parliamentary democracy.
On Friday, M K Muneer (IUML) moved notice for an adjournment motion seeking a discussion on the coronavirus, which has spread to various parts of the state with 16 people testing positive so far.
The Speaker P Sreeramakrishnan accepted the opposition plea for discussion.
Muneer alleged the laxity on the government’s part had resulted in more positive cases surfacing in the state after the first three cases were successfully treated.
He said while the central government had issued a consolidated travel advisory on February 26 stating that those coming from COVID19-infected nations including Italy and South Korea should be quarantined for 14 days, the Health Minister K K Shailaja had told the house that the circular was issued only on March 1, thus “misguiding” the house.