CHENNAI: Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) MLAs staged a walkout from the Assembly on Thursday after their vain attempt to raise the issue of conducting a caste census in the state went in vain.
G.K. Mani, PMK’s assembly floor leader, tried to elaborate on the importance of conducting the census. Speaker M Appavu, however, said as per the Constitution, only the Union government has the authority to conduct a population census, rendering a state-level census invalid. Despite the speaker’s remarks, PMK members continued to urge him to allow Mani to speak on the issue.
Chief Minister MK Stalin intervened, asserting both the DMK and PMK shared a common perspective on the caste census and reiterated the state government’s incapacity to conduct such a census. Unconvinced by Stalin’s response, PMK members, led by Mani, chose to stage a walkout from the assembly.
Meanwhile, PMK president Dr Anbumani Ramadoss urged the state government to establish a special force to prevent human-animal conflict in the state.