Ministers hit back at Oppsition’s ‘Atlee script’ jibe

CHENNAI: A sharp exchange erupted in the Assembly on Friday after DMK MLA SS Sivasankar compared the Governor’s Address to a film directed by filmmaker Atlee during the debate on the motion of thanks to the Governor’s Address.

Participating in the discussion, Sivasankar alleged that just as director Atlee assembles successful scenes from various films to create hit movies, the present government was shown the schemes introduced by the previous DMK regime.

The comments drew an immediate response from minister Rajmohan, who questioned the relevance of bringing a film director into a legislative debate.

“It is surprising that a full-time politician like Sivasankar has chosen to refer to Atlee in the Assembly. The Chief Minister entered politics from the film industry to serve the people, but what connection does Atlee have with the proceedings of this House?” the minister asked. Responding again, Sivasankar said he followed both

Atlee’s films and the ruling party’s actions. Referring to the dialogues penned by former Chief Minister M Karunanidhi for the classic film Parasakthi, he said Assembly speeches were closely watched by the public and formed an important part of political discourse.

“I will continue to raise many such issues in the coming days. The government should focus on providing constructive governance,” he said.

Rajmohan hit back, saying, “Times have already changed. But our commitment to protecting Tamil Nadu’s rights remains unchanged. Even yesterday, we gave primacy to Tamil despite a Union government circular. Tamil is our speech and Tamil is our breath,” he said.