Chennai, Sept 8 (IANS) DMK president M.K. Stalin on Tuesday accused the Tamil Nadu government of undermining the dignity of the Legislative Assembly after party MLAs were evicted following a heated dispute over Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay’s remarks against the opposition.
Speaking to reporters at the DMK headquarters, where the legislators gathered after their removal from the House, Stalin said the manner in which the proceedings were conducted had itself raised questions about legislative decorum.
The confrontation followed objections from the DMK to references made by Vijay in the Assembly on Monday.
Speaker J.C.D. Prabhakar ordered marshals to evict the opposition members after the protest disrupted proceedings. Senior DMK leader and former minister E.V. Velu alleged that the Chief Minister had breached Assembly Rule 92, which prohibits discussion of matters pending before courts.
He said Vijay referred to an ongoing Enforcement Directorate case and read from an affidavit despite the issue being sub judice. Velu also accused Vijay of ridiculing the imprisonment of DMK leaders under the Maintenance of Internal Security Act during the Emergency. He said the Chief Minister used gestures and theatrical expressions that belittled the sacrifices made by party veterans.
The DMK further objected to the revival of allegations linked to the Sarkaria Commission and the criticism of late Union minister Murasoli Maran. Velu maintained that all 28 allegations examined by the commission had been closed for want of evidence. He also recalled that AIADMK founder M.G. Ramachandran had told the panel that he had merely forwarded a complaint received from an advocate.
Questioning Vijay’s attack on Maran, Velu noted that the Chief Minister had earlier attended the release of a commemorative postage stamp honouring the DMK leader and had worked in films produced by the Maran family. Velu said DMK members raised the three issues during Zero Hour and sought the expunging of the remarks. However, the Speaker rejected their demand, prompting a protest before police personnel and marshals removed the legislators.
He accused the government of prioritising publicity and social-media videos over administration.
Velu also disputed the ruling party’s claim that a woman legislator occupying the Speaker’s chair was unprecedented, citing former members A.S. Ponnammal and D. Yasodha as earlier examples of women presiding over Assembly proceedings. This deepened tensions inside and outside the legislature.
–IANS
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