Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], September 8 (ANI): Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) MLA and party whip EV Velu on Tuesday slammed the Tamil Nadu government and Speaker JCD Prabhakar after marshals evicted DMK legislators from the Assembly amid a protest over Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay’s remarks on the Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA).
Velu termed the Speaker’s action “the height of an undemocratic government” and said the DMK was raising a legitimate demand over the state’s law and order situation.
“What we asked for is an answer on the current worsening law and order situation in Tamil Nadu, but the CM diverted the issue and spoke about the MISA Act. The Sarkaria Commission didn’t prove anyone guilty; hence, we asked the Speaker to expunge those portions, but the Speaker refused to do it,” Velu told reporters.
“The Speaker has forcefully evicted us from the House for raising a fair demand. It is the height of an undemocratic government and an undemocratic act. The DMK government ran a real government, but TVK is running a reel government,” he said.
The DMK staged a sit-in protest outside the Speaker’s chamber earlier on Tuesday, objecting to Vijay’s remarks made during Monday’s Assembly proceedings. The protest led to disruptions inside the House, following which the Speaker directed marshals to evacuate the DMK legislators.
Velu had earlier raised objections on the Assembly floor, arguing that referring to vigilance cases under investigation violated legislative tradition.
“Reading out cases is an act that violates tradition. Yesterday the Chief Minister had spoken about MISA and the Sarkaria Commission. Reading out Vigilance cases during the Chief Minister’s reply is a violation of tradition. Comments cannot be made on cases that are under investigation,” he said.
Speaker JCD Prabhakar rejected the DMK’s demand to expunge Vijay’s remarks on MISA, saying the Chief Minister had referred to matters that had already been discussed in the House.
The confrontation followed heated exchanges on Monday, when the DMK staged a walkout after Leader of Opposition Udhayanidhi Stalin was not immediately allowed to respond to allegations made by Vijay against the previous DMK government.
During his speech, Vijay referred to Enforcement Directorate material, the Sarkaria Commission and alleged irregularities and corruption during previous DMK regimes.
The DMK has rejected the allegations and questioned their evidentiary basis.
PWD Minister Aadhav Arjuna also accused the DMK of repeatedly disrupting proceedings to prevent him from speaking. (ANI)
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