Chennai: Tensions escalated inside the Tamil Nadu Assembly on Tuesday as opposition DMK legislators staged a sit-in protest outside Speaker J C D Prabhakar’s chamber, objecting to Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay’s remarks on the Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA) and references to the previous DMK government.
The confrontation followed Vijay’s speech in the Assembly on Monday, during which he cited Enforcement Directorate documents and the Sarkaria Commission while making allegations of corruption and irregularities during earlier DMK regimes. The Chief Minister also spoke about issues concerning policing and law and order in the state. The DMK strongly objected to several portions of his speech.
DMK Whip and MLA E V Velu raised the issue when the House met on Tuesday. He argued that referring to vigilance cases that are still under investigation was against Assembly traditions. Velu also objected to Vijay’s references to MISA and the Sarkaria Commission, and demanded that the disputed portions be removed from the Assembly records.
“Reading out cases is an act that violates tradition,” Velu said, arguing that comments should not be made on matters that remain under investigation.
Speaker Prabhakar rejected the DMK’s demand to expunge Vijay’s MISA-related remarks. He said the Chief Minister had referred to matters that had already been raised in the House and therefore there was no reason to remove the comments from the proceedings.
The Speaker’s decision led to further protests, with DMK members raising slogans and moving towards the Speaker’s podium. The legislators subsequently staged a sit-in outside the Speaker’s chamber. Marshals were later directed to remove the protesting MLAs from the Assembly.
Speaking to reporters, Velu accused the government of avoiding the opposition’s questions on what he described as the deteriorating law-and-order situation in Tamil Nadu. He alleged that Vijay had diverted the discussion towards the MISA issue and criticised the Speaker’s decision to have the protesting MLAs removed.
The ruling side defended the Chief Minister’s remarks. Law Minister R Nirmal Kumar said Vijay’s statements were based on official documents, including material from the Enforcement Directorate and the Sarkaria Commission report. PWD Minister Aadhav Arjuna, meanwhile, accused the DMK of repeatedly disrupting proceedings when members of the ruling side attempted to speak.
The latest confrontation comes a day after another heated exchange in the Assembly, when DMK members walked out after Leader of Opposition Udhayanidhi Stalin was not immediately allowed to respond to allegations made by Vijay against the previous DMK administration.
The continuing clashes underline the growing political friction between the ruling TVK government and the DMK, with Assembly proceedings increasingly becoming a battleground over allegations of corruption, law and order, and the conduct of legislative business.
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