Kerala Sabarimala gold row : Opposition protest rocks Assembly again; MLAs storm Speaker’s dais

The Kerala Legislative Assembly on Tuesday, February 3, 2026, once again witnessed turmoil over the Sabarimala gold theft controversy even as members of the Opposition United Democratic Front (UDF) stormed the Speaker’s dais. Speaker AN Shamseer stopped the hearing twice as the Opposition protests intensified.

As soon as the Question Hour began, the House witnessed harsh scenes as Opposition MPs stormed the well of the House and blocked the view of the Speaker by raising placards and hoardings and demanded the resignation of Devaswom Minister VN Vasavan in connection with the Sabarimala gold case, among other demands. In the middle of the protest, legislators Anwar Sadat and TV Ibrahim tried to attack the Speaker’s rostrum by breaking the cordon of Duty and Ward guards.

As the commotion got out of control, the Speaker left the dais around 9:40 a.m. and halted the Question Time session midway. When the Speaker subsequently reconvened the hearing at around 10am, initiating the Zero Hour hearing, Opposition MPs continued to disrupt the hearing in an attempt to storm the Speaker’s dais again. This was followed by another interruption in the session, with the Speaker leaving the podium in an attempt to take control of the situation.

Satheesan alleges CMO interference

Earlier, Opposition Leader VD Satheesan had announced the Opposition’s decision to stay the proceedings in protest against the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO)’s “interference” in the SIT investigation into the case. He also claimed that all the accused in the case were granted bail due to “weak defense of the prosecution”.

“Soon, the prime accused in the case, Unnikrishnan Potti, will also be released on bail with the intervention of the Prime Minister’s office,” he claimed.

Ministers reacted

However, the ruling side responded to the Opposition’s allegations by pointing out that it “allied with the defendant” in the case. General Education Minister V. Sivankutty highlighted Mr. Potti’s alleged “connection” with Congress leader Sonia Gandhi, among other senior Congress leaders.

Local Self Government Minister MB Rajesh even accused the Opposition, which he said was “affected by the lack of subjects in the Assembly”, of “insulting the Supreme Court Judge by making unreasonable allegations against Justice in order to make political points”.

Law Minister P. Rajeeve claimed that the Opposition’s “real purpose of the publicity stunt” was to “sabotage” the SIT investigation.

Later, the opposition announced its decision to boycott the hearing and left the Parliament.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and the Speaker also condemned the Opposition for their “actions” in the Assembly.