Thiruvananthapuram, Jan 18 (PTI) The Congress-led Opposition staged a walkout from the Kerala assembly on Monday after Speaker P Sreeramakrishnan denied permission to move an adjournment motion to discuss the alleged threatening of a poll officer by an MLA during the recent local body polls.

Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) MLA N A Nellikkunnu moved the motion, seeking discussion on the alleged threat to the officer byUduma MLA K Kunhiraman on December 14.

The opposition walked out after the Speaker refused permission, saying the incident occurred a month ago and was under the consideration of the State Election Commission.

Nellikkunnu and other oppositionmembers returned later and raised the matter as the first submission in the Assembly.

On January 9, the SEC sought a report from the Kasaragod district collector on a polling officer's complaint that the CPI(M) legislator from the district had threatened him during the local body polls held in December.

K M Sreekumar, Professor, Agricultural Entomology, Kerala Agricultural University at nearby Peelicode, was on election duty as the presiding officer at the polling station.

He had complained that Uduma MLA K Kunhiraman had threatened him for verifying credentials of voters.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, in his reply, said the officer had not yet filed a police complaint against the MLA.

"However, based on newspaper reports, we have asked the Kasaragod district Crime Branch DySP to look into the matter and submit a report.

It's based on the news reports alone," he said.

Vijayan also said it was not the duty of the presiding officer to verify the voter ID cards.

"In this matter, the presiding officer was examining the ID cards of the voters, which was actually the duty of the polling officers appointed to the booth.

The MLA, who reached there to vote, reported this matter to the district collector, who later asked the presiding officer to perform his duties," Vijayan said.

He said in Kasaragod alone, 113 cases were registered in connection with the local body polls, 38 of which were filed by workers of Left parties and 37 by the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF).

Vijayan also said action would be taken against the culprits in all these cases without any political bias.

Sreekumar, a leftist and also president of the Peelicode unit of the Teacher's Organisation of KAU, had accused the MLA of silencing him when he raised a dispute over bogus voting during the third phase of the local body polls on December 14.

"Let the first polling officer verify and you keep mum.If you don't listen to what we say,your legs will be chopped off, the complaint, quoting the MLA threatening remarks, had said.

Sreekumar had in a Facebook post alleged there were only CPI-M agents at the booth, facilitating unquestioned bogus voting.

Senior Election Commission officials had said the polling officer was supposed to report incidents of bogus voting or threats, to police and Returning Officer concerned on the same day or the next day itself.

The voting, which was held in three phases,was completed on December 14. the results were declared on December 16 and the Left parties secured a comfortable win.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)