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    Bosses or no bosses, pandemonium is the norm in Tamil Nadu assembly

    Synopsis

    Pandemonium in the assembly with offensive statements being hurled at each other and eviction and walk-outs are becoming a regular affair.

    ET Bureau
    By: V Premshanker

    CHENNAI: An AIADMK without J Jayalalithaa, a DMK without M Karunanidhi, and a DMDK without Vijayakanth: Tamil Nadu's top political parties are holding fort at the state assembly these days without having the physical presence of their political bosses in the house. But the sessions are no better or worse than those in the past when the party chiefs were actively participating, say experts.

    Pandemonium in the assembly with offensive statements being hurled at each other and eviction and walk-outs are becoming a regular affair in these sessions, too. While veteran leaders of both the ruling and opposition parties say this is only in tune with what is happening in all other states, there is consensus that time has come for corrective measures to be taken. Unproductive issues are dominating the assembly proceedings and the culture of exchanging views and engaging in meaningful debates has vanished, said DMK MLA Durai Murugan.

    "The onus lies on the assembly speaker who needs to be independent and bold enough to tell his own state ministers and MLAs to wrap up and abstain from making long-winding irrelevant statements," he said. "There is a need for providing training to the MLAs who attend these sessions."

    A senior leader of the AIADMK agreed that there has been a deterioration of the quality of debates in assembly sessions, but he said it is the case in other states, too. "I agree we need good assembly speakers who can manage the floor efficiently," said this leader who didn't want to be named. "Unfortunately, MLAs have stopped believing in meaningful forms of protests and they resort to cheap publicity stunts on the floor of the assembly . And when such acts go beyond control, it becomes necessary to evict them or suspend them.But the speaker should handle such issues efficiently and play by the book."

    Jayalalithaa had to step down as an MLA after her conviction by a Bengaluru trial court in a case related to disproportionate assets.DMK chief Karunanidhi had complained that lack of proper seating arrangements in the house was keeping him away from the assembly , while Vijayakanth has not returned to assembly ever since he was involved in a verbal duel on the floor with then chief minister Jayalalithaa, which led to his eviction from the house.

    Experts see deterioration in the way the assembly has been functioning, but feel that the seeds of decay were sown in the past. "I do not believe that the current state of the assembly is because of the absence of political bosses. When Jayalalithaa was present in the assembly , we had witnessed worse scenes," said political commentator Gnani Sankaran. "The deterioration started after the culture of showering praises on a leader in the assembly reached new heights."

    There is also a problem of not encouraging discussions, Gnani said. "There are more meaningful debates happening on TV channels, with representatives of all party members participating, than on the floor of the assembly ."

    Experts point out that if something has to change, it has to be in the mindset of the ruling party , which should allow for meaningful debates by accommodating the opposition party . An AIADMK without J Jayalalithaa, a DMK without M Karunanidhi, and a DMDK without Vijayakanth: Tamil Nadu's top political parties are holding fort at the state assembly these days without having the physical presence of their political bosses in the house. But the sessions are no better or worse than those in the past when the party chiefs were actively participating, say experts.

    Pandemonium in the assembly with offensive statements being hurled at each other and eviction and walk-outs are becoming a regular affair in these sessions, too. While veteran leaders of both the ruling and opposition parties say this is only in tune with what is happening in all other states, there is consensus that time has come for corrective measures to be taken. Unproductive issues are dominating the assembly proceedings and the culture of exchanging views and engaging in meaningful debates has vanished, said DMK MLA Durai Murugan.

    "The onus lies on the assembly speaker who needs to be independent and bold enough to tell his own state ministers and MLAs to wrap up and abstain from making long-winding irrelevant statements," he said. "There is a need for providing training to the MLAs who attend these sessions."

    A senior leader of the AIADMK agreed that there has been a deterioration of the quality of debates in assembly sessions, but he said it is the case in other states, too. "I agree we need good assembly speakers who can manage the floor efficiently," said this leader who didn't want to be named. "Unfortunately , MLAs have stopped believing in meaningful forms of protests and they resort to cheap publicity stunts on the floor of the assembly . And when such acts go beyond control, it becomes necessary to evict them or suspend them.But the speaker should handle such issues efficiently and play by the book."

     

    Jayalalithaa had to step down as an MLA after her conviction by a Bengaluru trial court in a case related to disproportionate assets.DMK chief Karunanidhi had complained that lack of proper seating arrangements in the house was keeping him away from the assembly , while Vijayakanth has not returned to assembly ever since he was involved in a verbal duel on the floor with then chief minister Jayalalithaa, which led to his eviction from the house.

    Experts see deterioration in the way the assembly has been functioning, but feel that the seeds of decay were sown in the past. "I do not believe that the current state of the assembly is because of the absence of political bosses. When Jayalalithaa was present in the assembly , we had witnessed worse scenes," said political commentator Gnani Sankaran. "The deterioration started after the culture of showering praises on a leader in the assembly reached new heights."

    There is also a problem of not encouraging discussions, Gnani said. "There are more meaningful debates happening on TV channels, with representatives of all party members participating, than on the floor of the assembly ."

    Experts point out that if something has to change, it has to be in the mindset of the ruling party , which should allow for meaningful debates by accommodating the opposition party .



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    Subscribe to The Economic Times Prime and read the ET ePaper online.

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