Kerala Minister Sivankutty falls ill in Assembly while replying questions, admitted to hospital

Thiruvananthapuram, Sep 19 ( IANS) Kerala Education Minister V. Sivankutty, 71, became unwell on Friday morning while replying to questions during the Assembly session and was admitted to a hospital.

During question hour, after the House proceedings commenced at 9 a.m., Sivankutty appeared uneasy as he was addressing the House. Though Speaker A.N. Shamseer advised him to take it easy, the minister insisted on continuing briefly.

Soon after, State Excise Minister M.B. Rajesh stepped in to handle questions related to the Education Department.

Sivankutty later left the Assembly floor and was taken to the hospital, where he is currently under observation.

Doctors attending to him have confirmed that his condition is stable.

The senior CPI(M) leader has been undergoing treatment for Parkinson’s disease in recent years.

The 14th Session of the 15th Kerala Assembly, its last session before this year’s local body polls, commenced on Monday and is scheduled to conclude on October 12.

Sivankutty, a two-time legislator and former Mayor of Thiruvananthapuram Corporation, rose through the ranks of student politics as a prominent leader of the Students’ Federation of India (SFI).

A close confidant of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, his appointment as Education Minister drew attention, given his long history of leading student agitations since the 1970s.

Sivankutty, elected from Nemom constituency in 2011, lost the seat in 2016 to BJP veteran O. Rajagopal, who became the first BJP MLA in the Kerala Assembly.

He reclaimed the seat in 2021, defeating former Mizoram Governor Kummanam Rajasekharan.

He is also remembered for the 2015 budget session ruckus, when, as an opposition MLA, he led a protest inside the House against then Finance Minister K.M. Mani.

Images of Sivankutty standing on the Assembly table with his dhoti folded and damaging equipment were widely circulated and used against him during the 2016 polls.

Despite controversies, Sivankutty remains one of the CPI(M)’s most prominent leaders in the state capital district as he is easily available to his people in the constituency and is humble in his top post. All eyes are on the veteran if he, despite his ailments, will contest from his sitting seat, as the BJP is hoping to wrest the constituency in the 2026 polls.

--IANS

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