Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Education Minister V Sivankutty (71), was admitted to hospital on Friday morning after feeling unwell while responding to questions during the Assembly session.

The 14th Session of the 15th Kerala Assembly, which began on Monday and is scheduled to conclude on 12 October, was underway when Sivankutty appeared uneasy during question hour. Proceedings had started at 9 am when the minister began addressing the House.

Though Speaker AN Shamseer advised him to take it easy, Sivankutty insisted on continuing briefly. Soon after, State Excise Minister MB Rajesh stepped in to answer questions related to the Education Department.

Sivankutty subsequently left the Assembly floor and was taken to hospital, where he is currently under observation. Doctors attending to him confirmed that his condition is stable.

Health background

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

Political journey

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.

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

(Agency inputs)