DMK members staged a walkout from the Tamil Nadu Assembly on Tuesday after Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay launched a sharp attack on the opposition party, labelling as "party funds" the alleged corruption during its previous regime. The remarks triggered noisy protests from DMK legislators inside the House.
Leader of the opposition DMK, Udhayanidhi Stalin registered a strong protest when the Chief Minister remarked that the previous DMK regime "siphoned" the funds of various government departments towards "party funds".
Attempting to stall Vijay's reply to the House, Udhayanidhi stood up and urged Speaker J C D Prabhakar to prevail upon the chief minister to submit proof rather than level baseless allegations against the DMK.
The Speaker, however, ruled out any interventions during Vijay's speech and said the chief minister should be allowed to complete his reply to the Governor's address to the Assembly.
But the DMK members stood protesting.
Resuming his speech, Vijay said, unlike the previous DMK government, the TVK will never indulge in corrupt practices, nor will it allow anyone to "loot" the government coffers.
Amidst noisy interventions, the chief minister adopted a fierce anti-corruption posture and mounted a direct assault on the previous regime.
His government would recover the public funds allegedly misappropriated under the guise of "party fund collections" and asserted that his government would ensure that those responsible for corruption, even if it be the DMK regime, would be brought to book.
His sharp remarks triggered immediate, vehement objections from the opposition benches.
Udhayanidhi protested, demanding that the Speaker allow him to respond on the floor of the House.
Dismissing the DMK's narrative that the ruling TVK sustained due to its mercy, Vijay said the left parties independently took a decision to support the TVK, while the Congress, VCK and IUML, who extended support, were accommodated in the new Cabinet.
"We are not dependent on the DMK's mercy.
We are running the government due to the mercy of the people who elected us," Vijay said, and the DMK members led by Udhayanidhi walked out of the House even before the chief minister could complete his speech.
Unfazed by the walkout, Vijay defended the stability and mandate of his government and rejected the opposition narratives that his administration runs solely on the mercy or support of external political forces.
Wondering why the DMK was getting incensed at the TVK for providing a berth in the Cabinet to the parties that support it, Vijay shifted his focus to social justice, challenging those who claim to champion it.
He highlighted his government's achievement of appointing eight members from the Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes to ministerial positions, framing this as the fulfilment of B R Ambedkar's long-standing vision of equitable representation.
Later, speaking to reporters outside the Assembly, Udhayanidhi condemned the proceedings and questioned the alleged procedural violations inside the House.
"If the chief minister possesses actual evidence of malpractice, he should table it formally in the House instead of making baseless allegations," the LoP said.
(With inputs from PTI)