Speaker’s office in Avinashi stoned, protests galore in state

Unidentified persons pelted stones on the MLA office of speaker P Dhanapal at Avinashi on Saturday after the floor test in the Assembly. 

More than 6,000 DMK cadre who were held earlier were released on bail during the late evenings. The protests by DMK cadre relegated the celebrations of AIADMK cadre to the minimum. 

CM Palanisamy’s effigy was burnt near the Salem Collectorate and the effigy of the Speaker was burnt at Omalur. More than 250 cadre formed a human chain and blocked traffic at 10 important junctions. 

Protests across the districts kept the police on their toes. In Thajavur, the members led by former union minister TR Baalu burnt the effigy of the speaker Dhanapal and raised slogans against him. They also blocked the road near Thanajvur bus stand. Members of Deepa Peravai also attempted to lock the Srirangam MLA office. They were arrested by police.

While the MLAs in Koovathur and police officials on duty were frantically searching for Coimbatore North AIADMK MLA PRG Arun Kumar, he sprung a surprise on them. He returned to his house in Periyanaickenpalayam an outskirts of Coimbatore early on Saturday morning. “I preferred not to go to the Assembly than going against the party’s decision of voting for Palanisamy,” he reasoned for his return home. “Now one family is taking over the party and as a loyalist I am unhappy over it,” he said, before relinquishing his Coimbatore urban district president post. It is worth mentioning that Arun Kumar is the third MLA from Coimbatore district who has raised a protest against Edappadi K Palanisamy as CM. Kavundampalayam MLA VC Arukutty was the first to extend support to Panneerselvam, followed by Mettupalayam MLA OK Chinnaraj.

The violent incidents in the Assembly were deliberately staged by the DMK, charged Speaker P Dhanapal. He was forced to issue a statement after LOP MK Stalin told the press that he shed crocodile tears, Dhanapal claimed. He added that Saturday’s incidents were triggered as he belonged to a downtrodden community and that he and his position had not been respected in the House.