Tamil Nadu: Amid din, Speaker allows Ministers' talk before debate

CHENNAI: The Assembly followed a new protocol from Thursday during the demands for grants for various departments, beginning with a talk by the concerned minister about the department, which opposition members condemned as contrary to convention.

Despite opposition from the DMK and AIADMK, Speaker JCD Prabhakar did not change his stand on the issue. Under the new protocol, Ministers presenting grant requests for their respective departments will make departmental announcements during the introductory stage. Normally, such announcements are made only after the debate and the Minister's reply.

The Speaker announced that the new procedure would be followed from Thursday. Opposition parties, including the DMK and AIADMK, opposed the move.

Describing it as a "cinema climax," DMK MLA Thangam Thennarasu said the audience should know the climax only at the end of a film, not at the beginning.

Replying to him, Minister for Social Justice Vanni Arasu said some films had two climaxes — one at the beginning and another at the end.

Speaker Prabhakar rejected the Opposition's demand that the announcements be made at the end of the Minister's speech. He directed Ministers Vanni Arasu, V Sampath Kumar and AM Shahjahan to read out their departmental announcements while moving the demands for grants at the introductory stage. Following the Speaker's direction, the Ministers read out their respective departmental announcements.

In another incident, the Speaker heard the Opposition's concerns during Zero Hour. Minister Rajmohan attempted to read out a statement on the Nepal issue before the Opposition raised the matter.

The DMK and AIADMK members raised their voices in protest. Leader of the Opposition Udhayanidhi Stalin said the Minister should read out the statement only after the Opposition was allowed to raise the issue of the Nepal disaster.

Recalling the debate on the Karur incident, in which 41 people died at a TVK public meeting, Speaker Prabhakar said that during the discussion on the incident, then Chief Minister MK Stalin had read out the statement first, followed by the Opposition raising the issue.

However, the Opposition stood by its demand. Following the intervention of House Leader KA Sengottaiyan and Minister Rajmohan, the Speaker allowed the Opposition to raise the Nepal issue.