AIADMK MLAs walked out of the Tamil Nadu Assembly on Monday, alleging they were not allowed to speak during the session. The walkout was led by party leader Edappadi K. Palaniswami (EPS).
The Assembly met on June 22, during which Labour Welfare Minister Parvesh gave an explanation under Rule 110 on the ammonia gas leak incident in Tiruvallur. Ahead of the minister’s statement, opposition parties created a ruckus, demanding an opportunity to speak.
AIADMK members said they were denied permission to raise the Mekedatu issue and staged a protest against Speaker JCD Prabhakar. However, four AIADMK MLAs—S.P. Velumani (Thondamuthur), Natham R. Viswanathan (Natham), Rakesh (Sankarapuram) and Ravi Manoharan (Palani)—did not join the walkout.
Responding to a privilege-related matter, the Speaker said he knew when to grant permission and urged members to speak with caution as the proceedings are being live-streamed. He also warned that action would be taken in future if the dignity of the House is compromised, and expressed regret over certain “undesirable” acts that took place on Friday.
Later, Minister Anand said the Tamil Nadu government would not compromise on farmers’ rights in the Mekedatu matter, and claimed that setting up a new tribunal over the issue would not adversely affect the state. During the session, the Speaker also conveyed birthday wishes to Chief Minister Vijay.
