Assembly adjourned for day as Oppn disrupt proceedings over fee hike in medical collges

Thiruvananthapuram, Aug 16 : Kerala Assembly was adjourned for the day as Congress-led UDF staged a sit-in protest in the well and disrupted the proceedings alleging that a personal staff of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan took a favourable decision for hiking fees by self financing medical colleges run by private managements. Seeking the leave of the House to move the adjournment motion in this regard, VD Satheesan of Congress alleged the private managements hiked the fees exorbitantly after their secret meeting with the personnel staff of the Chief Minister undermining the interest of medical students. The Chief Minister’s office took many important decisions in connection with the functioning of the private medical colleges, keeping the Health Minister, Health Department and the Health Secretary as mute spectators, the member alleged. As part of the conspiracy, the advocates, who appeared in the Supreme Court, not argued the case properly leaving a chance for the private managements to win the case hiking fees structure to various medical courses. In her reply, Health Minister KK Shylaja said there was no interference from the Chief Minister’s office to hike the fees as alleged by the Congress member, whose intention in this regard is “politically motivated.’ “How the government can stop the managements from approaching the court. It is their own decision, we can’t do anything. There is no unholy nexus between the managements and the Government,” she added. Following the reply, Speaker P Sreeramakrishnan denied permission to move the adjournment motion. In protest against the Government decision to not discuss the issue in the House, the Opposition members entered the well and staged sit-in protest. Sensing that the house was not in order, the Speaker adjourned the house for the day. UNI