P Dhanapal, a five-time legislator who has served in various capacities in the AIADMK government, on Wednesday, took over as the Speaker of Tamil Nadu Assembly. Greeting the new Speaker, Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa hailed him as the first member of the Dalit community elected unanimously as Speaker after Independence and as the first person from the Arundathiyar community to occupy the high position. “You have created a history in this glorious Assembly,” she added.
(Arundathiyar community is one among the castes in the list of Scheduled Castes. J Sivashanmugam Pillai was the first person to become the Speaker of the Tamil Nadu Assembly in 1952 from Dalit community, but he made it after a contest.)
When the House met for the day for the Speaker’s election, Pro-tem Speaker C K Tamizharasan announced that Dhanapal was elected unopposed as his was the only nomination filed for the post. Following this, leader of the House and Finance Minister O Panneerselvam and deputy leader of the Opposition Panruti S Ramachandran escorted Dhanapal to the Speaker’s Chair. Leader of Opposition Vijayakant skipped the session. Leaders of various parties hailed the Chief Minister for proposing a member from one of the most oppressed classes of the society to the high office. In the same breath, they urged the new Speaker to be generous with the opposition parties in giving more opportunities to them to express their views and safeguard the democratic principles.
Thanking the Chief Minister profusely, Dhanapal recalled the medical assistance provided by her when he suffered serious injuries in two accidents many years ago. “I am alive and have become the Speaker of the House today, only because of the help extended by Amma. By giving me this post, she had not only uplifted me but also my community,” he said.
The Speaker promised them that he would uphold democratic principles while presiding over the proceedings of the House.
Leader of the House, O Panneerselvam, expressed confidence that the new Speaker would handle the proceedings of the House with sagacity. Deputy Leader of the Opposition, S Ramachandran, said the new Speaker had long experience in handling the business of the House as he had served as a minister and deputy speaker besides being a member of the House five times. In a jocular vein, he said “The loss of Royapuram has become the gain of Rasipuram (Royapuram is the constituency of former Speaker D Jayakumar while Dhanapal represents Rasipuram). DMK floor leader M K Stalin said “we would like you to emulate J Sivashanmugam Pillai in conducting the proceedings of the House.”
