In A First, Kerala Assembly To Have All-Women Panel

On Monday, when the Kerala Assembly House met on the day for its first session, Speaker A.M.Shamseer announced that the Assembly will have all women in a panel of chairman for the ongoing current session. Only 32 women legislators have made it to the panel ever since the inception of the state of Kerala.

This is the first time in history that the Kerala Assembly will hold an all-women panel. The panel includes ruling front legislators C.K. Asha of the CPI  and U.Prathibha of the CPI-M and K.K.Rema from the opposition party.

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All Women Panel In Kerala Assembly

According to reports, the announcement was made Monday morning on the first day of the session itself to pave way for further recesses. As per the procedure, the Speaker moderates the proceedings and it is when they take a break, the deputy Speaker steps in and takes over. However, in any case, when neither of them is available, the member of the panel comes to the forefront to take the position.

A.M.Shamseer is the newly-appointed Speaker of the House after M.V. Govindan resigned from the House and became the new CPI-M state secretary and the Speaker M.B. Rajesh went on to become state LSG and Excise Minister making way for Shamseer to take over as Speaker. Consciously, Shamseere announced his decision to introduce the all-women panel and took his chair of Speaker as panel members are appointed on the first day as per the state's procedure. 46-year-old C.K. Asha, 45-year-old U.Prathibha and 52-year-old K.K.Rema have made history by becoming a part of an all-women panel since the inception of the Legislative Assembly in Kerala.

The panellist 

Member of the Communist Party of India, C. K. Asha serves as a legislator in the Kerala Assembly. She represents the Vaikom constituency. Asha held the position of the Vice President of the All India Students Federation District Committee at Kottayam as well. Rema is a member of the opposition party in Kerala, the Revolutionary Marxist Party of India. She is an activist-turned-politician. MLA Prathibha represents the Kayamkulam constituency of the Alappuzha district. She served as the President of Alappuzha District Panchayat from 2010 to 2015 and as the President of Thakazhy Grama Panchayat from 2005–2010.

While 515 legislators have been nominated to the Assembly panel in Kerala, only a total of 32 women have made it to the panel so far.

While the current session is to go for only nice days as per its listing, the ongoing tiff between Governor Arif Mohammed Khan and the Pinarayi Vijayan-led government can extend the session hearings to the next year. The extended business days of the session can pave the way for the women panellists to continue presiding in 2023 even when the state budget for the new financial year is presented.