Celebrating the 60th anniversary of the first cabinet meeting in the state, the Kerala Assembly convened in the historic old Assembly Hall at the Secretariat Complex. The old hall had functioned as the venue for the Kerala Assembly until 1998.
Even as the Assembly celebrated Kerala’s history, various leaders urged that the Assembly should develop a more coherent development-centric view towards the future.
Speaker Sreeramakrishnan began by sounding a note of caution. Urging Assembly members not to rest on the accolades given to the Kerala development model, he said that these should not blind people to the problems in the state.
Citing popular attitudes of fear towards the police, the Speaker said, "It's unfortunate that ordinary people fear police. There should be speed in decision-making regarding governance. The people's representatives fail to act as spokespersons of the state. There is no consensus when it comes to decisions regarding big development."
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan added that the Assembly should not let itself get sidetracked from the agenda of development by controversies and political debates. “There should be introspection from the part of the politicians. They should be more vigilant about bringing out legislation rather than other issues," he said
Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala said that political parties including the Congress should be ready to change along with the demands of changing times. "The achievements Kerala has won in the last 60 years can’t be claimed by any other state. The opposition should also be more creative to make the functioning of government more effective. Assembly is a place where different opinions combine together. I am agreeing with the Chief Minister's opinion that there should be consensus when it comes to development", he said.