CHENNAI: Upping the ante over suspension of his party MLAs in the Tamil Nadu Assembly, DMK President M Karunanidhi today asked his cadres to explain to the people on "what is happening" in the House by holding public meetings.
The 92-year-old former chief minister said he would address a public meeting here along with leaders including his son and Leader of the Opposition M K Stalin and deputy leader Durai Murugan on democracy in the assembly on August 22.
In a statement here, he said, similar meetings would be held on August 25 and 26 in Madurai and Tiruchirappalli respectively.
He urged the cadres to hold such meetings in a befitting manner and tell the people on "what is happening in the state assembly" and "strive to protect Parliamentary democracy."
Already, DMK legislators led by Stalin, also the party Treasurer, have held a protest outside the Assembly on the issue of suspension of its MLAs earlier this week.
DMK MLAs were evicted and suspended en masse by Speaker P Dhanapal on August 17 for a week for disrupting the assembly proceedings.
Initially 80 MLAs were suspended but later the suspension of one legislator was revoked as he was not present in the House during the ruckus, triggered by remarks by a ruling AIADMK MLA ridiculing Stalin.
Yesterday, DMK held a mock assembly in the precincts of Fort St George claiming that it was conducted to show a "model Assembly" and how the proceedings should be held.
The party has approached the Madras High Court seeking to quash the suspension.