Chennai: The DMK on Friday boycotted finance minister O. Panneerselvam’s reply to the budget discussion citing Speaker P. Dhanapal’s refusal to give his ruling on the remarks of handlooms minister O.S. Manian.
As soon as the proceedings began, leader of Opposition M.K. Stalin asked the Speaker to give his ruling on the demand to expunge the minister’s remarks.
The Speaker said he would give his ruling later, but Stalin and deputy leader of opposition K. Duraimurugan pressed him to give the ruling immediately.
Stalin said the Speaker who had made similar promises to look into the demand to expunge the remarks of AIADMK members Rajan Chellappa and Thennarasu, but did not give his ruling till now. If the Speaker did not announce his judgment now, the DMK would be forced to boycott the reply of finance minister to the budget discussion.
The Speaker said he had not promised to give his verdict immediately and the DMK members could not insist him for a quick decision. He also asked the DMK members to co-operate in the conduct of the proceedings.
Stalin said as the Speaker was not heeding to their request, they would boycott the speech of the finance minister and walked out of the House with his party members. The Congress and IUML members too followed the DMK members.
After the DMK members went out, the Speaker said the DMK is enacting a drama to divert the issue. He charged Stalin and Duraimurugan with inciting party members to disrupt the proceedings.
“The DMK members are behaving in an indecent manner. They are addressing me in a disrespectful manner. DMK members J. Anbazhagan and B. Ranganathan are conducting themselves in an improper way. They are teasing the ministers when they are speaking in the Assembly. K. Ponmudi addressed me in a disrespectful way. I will take any disrespect at an individual level, but they are degrading the Chair”.
The Speaker said Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa requested him to conduct the Assembly in a neutral manner and added he was following the request.
“I wish to make Tamil Nadu Assembly as a model one in the country, just like the Chief Minister is trying to make Tamil Nadu a model state. If the DMK members continued to behave like this, I will have to take action as per rules. I strongly condemn the activities of DMK members”.
Coming out the House, Stalin said DMK members would not behave in an undemocratic manner, but the AIADMK was functioning with the objective of sending the DMK members out.
