CHENNAI: After a gap of 10 years, the venue of the Tamil Nadu Assembly is changing due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The third floor of Kalaivanar Arangam is where the monsoon session of the Assembly is expected to take place.
The budget session of the Assembly was adjourned in advance on March 24 due to COVID-19 threat and the House has to be convened within 180 days again. As such, the House is expected to meet within the third week of September.
Assembly Speaker P Dhanapal inspected the third floor of Kalaivanar Arangam along with senior officials. Talking to reporters, he said, "Due to COVID-19 threat, we are looking for a venue to conduct
the next session of the Assembly. A final decision in this regard is yet to be taken."
Asked whether the government was considering some other places, the Speaker said, "More information would be given made available soon." However, sources said that considering the location of the MLA's hostel adjacent to Kalaivanar Arangam, the monsoon session, which is usually a short duration one, is most likely to be held there.
The venue for the State Assembly has changed many times according to prevailing requirements. The present Assembly Hall at Fort St George constructed exactly 110 years ago, i.e., in 1910.
The Assembly session was started on January 12, 1921, and Lord Wellington, who was the Governor of Chennai Presidency visited the Assembly on March 6, 1922 and the Speaker’s chair with artistic work
was presented by him which has been in use till date. From 1921 to 1937, the Assembly session was held in the Council Hall in Fort St George.
After Rajaji took over as the Chief Minister in 1937, the Assembly session was held at the Senate Hall of the Madras University till December 21, 1937. Later, the Assembly session was held at Rajaji Hall from January 27, 1938, to October 26, 1939.
After T Prakasam became the Chief Minister, the Assembly session started functioning in the hall at Fort St George from May 24, 1946.
Congress won the first Lok Sabha elections in 1952 and Rajaji assumed office as the Chief Minister. As there were 375 members in the Assembly, a new Assembly hall was constructed at the Government Estate
and it started functioning from May 2, 1952.
After the 1957 elections, Assembly sessions have been held in Fort St George except for a short gap between April 20, 1959 and April 30, 1959.
After Ramasamy Reddiyar, PS Kumaraswami Raja, Rajaji, K Kamaraj, K Bhakthavatsalam, Arignar Anna, M Karunanidhi, MG Ramachandran, Janaki Ammal, J Jayalalithaa, O Panneerselvam and Edappadi K Palaniswami have functioned as Chief Minister from this historic place.
From January 11, 2010, the Assembly moved to the new building in the Government Estate. After former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa assumed office as Chief Minister in 2011, the Assembly was once again shifted to Fort St George from May 2011.