CHENNAI: AIADMK MLAs and three MLAs belonging to the Anbumani faction of the PMK staged a walkout from the first Assembly session of the year on Tuesday, condemning the alleged deterioration of law and order and other issues in Tamil Nadu, and charging that the DMK government has failed to address them.
Right after Governor R N Ravi left the House, declining to deliver the state-prepared customary address, AIADMK general secretary and Leader of the Opposition Edappadi K Palaniswami and his party MLAs started raising slogans against the deterioration of the law and order situation in TN. Subsequently, they staged a walkout.
Talking to reporters outside the Assembly, Palaniswami alleged that Chief Minister M K Stalin had come prepared to speak against the governor and had moved a resolution with a predetermined intent to create a negative perception. He said the customary governor’s address traditionally reflects only the government’s policy and questioned the inclusion of the CM’s views, terming it a departure from Assembly convention.
When asked about his view on Governor Ravi walking out of the House because the National Anthem was not played, Palaniswami said, “It is neither appropriate nor proper to criticise the governor’s actions. We have not done so, nor do we wish to get into that.”
Vanathi Srinivasan (BJP) said the Governor Ravi demanded that the National Anthem be recited first. “Why is the state government so adamant on this issue? What was surprising was that the CM had come to the Assembly with a prepared speech with a preconclusion that the governor would leave the House. So, it is clear that their intention was also for the Governor to not deliver the address. The DMK government does not want a cordial atmosphere prevailing between the governor and the state.”
Three PMK MLAs — S Sivakumar (Mailam), S Sadhasivam (Mettur) and S P Venkateshwaran (Dharmapuri) — who also walked out along with the AIADMK MLAs, said, “We have staged a walkout condemning the DMK government’s failure to maintain law and order situation. Besides, narcotic substances are freely available in all parts of the state and the government has failed to take action.”