CHENNAI: Speaker JCD Prabhakar on Friday ruled that the complaint against DMK MLA GV Markandayan over his alleged threatening remarks against Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay would be referred to the House Privileges Committee after it is constituted, rejecting the Opposition's contention that the matter should be left to the courts.
The issue arose during the debate on the Revised Budget and Revised Agriculture Budget 2026-27, when Markandayan, while criticising the Budget, referred to his recent imprisonment, which was objected to by Minister R Nirmalkumar and Aadhav Arjuna. The Speaker informed the House that the latter had raised a complaint over the issue.
"The issue will be placed before the Privileges Committee, once it is constituted, for a recommendation," the Speaker said. He added that Markandayan's public speech had caused widespread anguish. Responding to his remark, Markandayan expressed regret, saying DMK president MK Stalin and senior party leaders, including Udhayanidhi Stalin, Kanimozhi Karunanidhi, EV Velu and KN Nehru, had advised him to maintain political decorum. "Such an incident will not happen again. I request everyone to forget that episode," he said.
Senior DMK MLA EV Velu argued that Markandayan had already been arrested and was facing judicial proceedings, and questioned the need for a parallel inquiry by the House. However, Prabhakar maintained that since the remarks were directed against both the Assembly and the Chief Minister, the legislature was well within its rights to examine the matter through the Privileges Committee.