CHENNAI: Congress councillors walked out of the council hall following a clash with DMK members.
The confrontation began when Congress councillor Samuel Thiraviyam congratulated C Joseph Vijay on assuming office as CM, on behalf of the party and the council. Speaking at the meeting, he said the state had entered a new political phase in history by forming a coalition government and extended his wishes to Vijay.
However, DMK councillors objected to the statement, laughed at him and asked who he voted for in the Assembly election. The councillors went on to call them traitors when the exchange quickly escalated, leading to chaos in the hall despite the mayor trying to calm them. While DMK councillors failed to back down, the Congress councillors walked out of the meeting.
Speaking to reporters later, Thiraviyam said DMK councillors prevented him from speaking and tried to attack Congress councillors after he referred to the political change in the state. He also claimed his mic was switched off when he congratulated the CM, prompting the walkout.
Thiraviyam added, “Congress is not a hand that destroys, but a hand that embraces.”
Notably, DMK councillors did not raise objections against CPI, CPM, and VCK, which are now allied with TVK while the councillors themselves did not object to the DMK councillors’ treatment of the Congress.
Meanwhile, councillor VV Giridharan, who recently joined TVK from AMMK, said permission was denied for TVK councillors to speak in the council to convey birthday wishes to Chief Minister Vijay and congratulate him on assuming office.