Kerala Assembly passes Nativity Card Bill

Amid continuing non-cooperation by the Congress-led UDF Opposition, the Kerala Assembly has passed nine Bills, including the Nativity Card Bill, 2026, listed for the day. The Assembly transacted the entire business at record speed before the House adjourned sine die on Tuesday.

The demands for grants moved by various departments for the current and coming financial years were taken up and passed by the House without any discussions in the absence of the Opposition. Instead of ‘Vote on Account,’ the House chose to pass the full Budget for the next financial year.

Among the various other Bills passed included the Abkari (Amendment) Bill 2026, the Kerala Advocates’ Clerks Welfare Fund (Amendment) Bill 2026, and the Kerala Advocates’ Welfare Fund (Amendment) Bill 2026.

Finance Minister K.N. Balagopal termed the passage of the Nativity Card Bill “a historic moment” as the legislation will “protect minority communities.” It will allow people from the State to declare themselves Keralites with the issuance of a nativity card.

The Bills, whose subject committee reports were scheduled to be tabled as per the list of business, were also taken up in the Assembly. Accepting some of the changes proposed by legislators, they were passed without any discussion.

With nine Bills passed in the final sitting of the session, a total of 168 of the 195 government Bills taken up on the floor of the House during the term of the 15th Kerala Assembly were passed, the highest number in the Assembly’s history.