DMK MLAs evicted en masse from Assembly

CHENNAI: DMK members were evicted en masse from the Assembly after they stormed the Well and raised slogans against Speaker J C D Prabhakar, protesting his refusal to expunge the allegations made by Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay against DMK leaders on Monday.

After the DMK MLAs were evicted, the Speaker justified his decision, saying that he had ordered their eviction as their conduct was disrupting the proceedings of the House.

When the Assembly commenced on Tuesday, DMK Whip E V Velu raised a query about the Chief Minister's speech while replying to the demand for grants for the Home Department. Velu said the Chief Minister's speech was totally contrary to the Assembly rules and referred to matters that were under court inquiry.

"The former Chief Minister and our leader was arrested a year under the MISA Act, which is already a known fact. During the Chief Minister's speech on the Sarkaria Commission, he mentioned the name of Murasoli Maran, who is deceased. This also contradicts the Assembly rules, as the names of deceased persons should not be mentioned in Assembly debates. The Sarkaria Commission itself said that no charges had been proved," he said.

Explaining the relationship between the Maran family and Chief Minister Vijay, Velu said the commemorative stamp was released by then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and then actor and present Chief Minister Vijay.

Terming the Chief Minister's speech against DMK leaders baseless and without evidence, Velu demanded that the speech be expunged from the House records.

Replying to him, Minister for Law and Energy R Nirmalkumar said that during the DMK regime, allegations relating to the purchase of wheat and pesticides were proved by the Sarkaria Commission.

"Former Chief Minister Stalin's arrest occurred owing to various reasons, including a defamatory speech against the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, and not under the MISA Act," the Minister said.

Following this, DMK members raised slogans against him. When Minister Aadhav Arjuna was trying to speak, the DMK members continued raising slogans. He responded that if they continued, the TVK MLAs would also raise their voices.

The Speaker asked the Minister not to speak in that manner and said the ruling party MLAs should maintain silence, as they had done during the Chief Minister's reply on Monday.

After that, Ministers Aadhav Arjuna and K A Sengottaiyan justified the Chief Minister's speech and said there was no need to expunge it from the House records.

Following the Ministers' statements, DMK MLA Govi Chezhiaan asked whether the Chief Minister could produce the Enforcement Directorate records as evidence and questioned the need to mention Murasoli Maran's name.

After his argument, the Speaker said the issue of the Sarkaria Commission had been discussed in the Assembly several times and that Stalin's arrest under the MISA was also a fact. "The Chief Minister mentioned an ED document that was in the public domain. So, there is no need to expunge the Chief Minister's speech from the Assembly records," the Speaker said.

After the Speaker pronounced his ruling, DMK MLAs raised slogans against him. As the Speaker stood by his ruling, the DMK MLAs trooped into the Well and raised slogans.

Minister and House Chairman K A Sengottaiyan warned the members that their conduct was against the traditional norms and decorum of the Assembly and appealed to them to return to their seats.

Speaker Prabhakar also repeatedly warned the protesting members and directed them to withdraw from the Well. However, the DMK MLAs continued their protest despite the warnings.

With the disruption continuing, the Speaker ordered their eviction. Assembly marshals entered the Well and evicted the DMK members en masse.

The eviction turned dramatic as some of the protesting MLAs resisted the marshals. A few DMK members were physically lifted and carried out of the House by marshals, even as the protest continued.