DMK MLAs Evicted From Tamil Nadu Assembly After Protest Over CM Vijay’s Remarks

The Tamil Nadu Assembly witnessed a major confrontation on Tuesday after DMK legislators protested against remarks made by Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay during his speech a day earlier. The opposition MLAs demanded that references to the Sarkaria Commission, former Chief Minister M Karunanidhi, late Union Minister Murasoli Maran and Enforcement Directorate (ED) documents be removed from the Assembly records.

Things went from bad to worse after Speaker JCD Prabhakar refused to expunge the comments made by the DMK. The protesting legislators then shouted slogans and went into the well of the House, after which Assembly marshals were instructed to clear the protesters.

The dispute began soon after the Assembly proceedings commenced. DMK Whip EV Velu objected to Vijay’s references to alleged corruption and ED findings, arguing that the remarks violated Assembly rules.

Velu also questioned the Chief Minister’s references to the Sarkaria Commission, saying that the commission had not found offences in the matter being discussed.

Law Minister R Nirmal Kumar, on the other hand, explained Vijay's comments, claiming the Chief Minister had used the Sarkaria Commission report and documents from the Enforcement Directorate. He also repeated the charges of corruption against the previous DMK government.

Speaker Prabhakar then found no reason for striking off Vijay's off-the-cuff comments. He explained that the Chief Minister had mentioned the information that is already in the public domain and that the Sarkaria Commission had been discussed in the House earlier.

The Speaker's endorsement did not appease the opposition. The DMK MPs kept raising slogans and congregating around the Speaker's podium demanding the deletion of Vijay's remarks.

Prabhakar requested the protesting members to sit in their respective seats and gave his consent to EV Velu (DMK whip) or K N Nehru (DMK deputy leader) to speak on the matter.

Then, the Leader of the House KA Sengottaiyan demanded action in the assembly against the protesting MLAs on the basis of Assembly rules, alleging that they were disturbing the proceedings.

The Speaker also cautioned the legislators not to come near the chair and that he will not rethink about his decision.

As the protests continued, Speaker Prabhakar directed the Assembly’s watch-and-ward staff and marshals to remove the DMK members from the House.

Several legislators who remained in the well were physically escorted out. Those removed included Valparai MLA Kutty, Thiruvaiyaru MLA Durai Chandrasekaran and Rishivandiyam MLA Vasantham K Karthikeyan, among others.

The protesting MLAs continued raising slogans while being taken out of the Assembly hall.

The disruption brought the proceedings to a standstill around 10:03 am, following earlier heated exchanges between former ministers EV Velu and K N Nehru and ministers Aadhav Arjuna and R Nirmal Kumar.

The confrontation came a day after Chief Minister Vijay made a sharp attack on the previous DMK regime during his Assembly speech.

Vijay referred to ED documents while making allegations concerning corruption in the state-run liquor retail sector and mentioned former DMK minister V Senthil Balaji and his brother Ashok Kumar.

He also referred to the Sarkaria Commission while alleging financial irregularities during the earlier DMK government.

The DMK objected to the remarks and sought their removal from the House records, setting the stage for Tuesday’s confrontation.

The latest incident adds to growing political tensions between Vijay-led Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) and the DMK inside the Tamil Nadu Assembly.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Susmita Modak

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Always love to raise the unraised matter. In a world of worries, I am always ready to come over my comfort zone and taking the step ahead of spreading awareness.

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