CHENNAI: Alleging denial to raise public issues in the House, the principal Opposition All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) staged a walkout from the Tamil Nadu Assembly on Thursday, raising slogans against Speaker M Appavu.
After the Question Hour, Leader of the Opposition and AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami tried to raise certain issues during Zero Hour.
However, the Speaker did not permit it, stating that a special adjournment motion under Rule 55 should be submitted at least an hour before the commencement of the day's business.
Explaining his ruling, the Speaker said that the party whip SP Velumani submitted the notice only at 10.55 am, even though he had been asked to do so before the start of the Question Hour.
Following the ruling, the Leader of the Opposition argued with the Speaker, but Appavu maintained that nearly 15 members had already submitted notices on various issues. "If I allow the Leader of the Opposition to raise an issue now, I must extend the same opportunity to all those who have submitted notice," the Speaker said.
As the exchange continued, Chief Minister MK Stalin intervened and assured the House that the issue sought to be raised by the Opposition would be taken up on Friday, after obtaining a response from the concerned Minister. However, the AIADMK members were not satisfied with the assurance.
In protest, AIADMK MLAs rushed to the front rows and raised slogans against the Speaker. Intervening again, the Chief Minister asked why the Opposition was repeatedly disrupting proceedings when the issue had already been assured to be taken up the next day.
As the Speaker proceeded with the next item of business, the AIADMK MLAs staged a walkout from the House, continuing to raise slogans against the Speaker.
The walkout disrupted proceedings for at least 15 minutes before normal business resumed.