Kerala High Court Cites Bengal, Tamil Nadu In Allowing Oath Ceremony

Political parties should take a call on whether the attendance of all MLAs is needed, the Kerala High Court said

The Kerala government can hold its oath ceremony keeping in mind the need for reduced number of attendees amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the Kerala High Court said today. The high court left it to the Pinarayi Vijayan government to decide on the number of guests other than MLAs and new ministers it may consider inviting to the ceremony scheduled tomorrow at Central Stadium in state capital Thiruvananthapuram. Political parties should take a call on whether the attendance of all MLAs is needed, the high court said. It cited the examples of West Bengal and Tamil Nadu, which despite having a higher number of MLAs, held a much smaller oath ceremonies due to the pandemic. "Kerala, a forerunner in COVID-19 management, should restrict the number to the maximum to avoid the widespread infections," the high court said. Family members of MLAs are not required to participate in the ceremony, but those of political leaders set to be made ministers may attend, the high court said. MLAs can see the ceremony from their homes via video-conference, the high court said.