CHENNAI: A heated argument broke out between the ruling TVK and the Opposition DMK and AIADMK in the Assembly on Friday over the Dravidian parties' contributions to the State's development.
The debate took place during the discussion of grant requests for the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Participating in the debate, Housing Minister B Rajkumar said the people of the State had ended the rule of the DMK and AIADMK after nearly five decades and brought the two parties together on the Opposition benches through the TVK.
He said the DMK and AIADMK should remain in the Opposition for several more years and that the present situation, with both parties seated together on the Opposition side, should continue.
Rajkumar said that although several development works had been carried out under successive Dravidian governments, the Assembly was still discussing basic needs of the people that remained unfulfilled even after 50 years. This reflected the performance of the two parties during their previous tenures, he said.
His remarks drew strong objections from DMK members. DMK whip E V Velu said a minister should not make blanket allegations against the Dravidian parties. The development witnessed by Tamil Nadu today was the result of the achievements of Dravidian parties over the past 50 years, he said.
Intervening, Water Resources Minister N Anand said Rajkumar was only pointing out the shortage of doctors in the medical sector.
Former chief minister O Panneerselvam said Tamil Nadu had emerged as the leading state in economic growth during the previous DMK regime and that this was a continuation of the Dravidian legacy.
AIADMK former minister Agri S S Krishnamurthy highlighted the achievements of former chief ministers J Jayalalithaa and Edappadi K Palaniswami. He said Jayalalithaa had constructed the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium within nine months and brought the Veeranam water project to Chennai, while Palaniswami had brought 11 new medical colleges to Tamil Nadu.