AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS) on Tuesday alleged that repeated confrontations between ministers, the ruling side and the opposition in the Tamil Nadu Assembly are wasting the House’s time.
Speaking to reporters outside the Assembly, EPS said disruptions occur almost every day, including during the Budget session and the current debates on grant demands. He claimed that when the opposition tries to raise issues, ministers and ruling party MLAs level allegations, prompting counter-responses and prolonged exchanges.
According to EPS, while the government highlights that the Assembly sits for 10 hours a day, only about three hours are spent discussing people’s problems, with the remaining time lost to back-and-forth arguments. He said this prevents opposition members from fully presenting their views.
EPS also alleged that many questions raised by MLAs do not receive proper replies from the concerned ministers, and that only a few ministers respond on departmental matters. Referring to the police department grant demand debate, he said the Chief Minister did not answer his questions in detail and only made a general statement that vacancies would be filled, without specifying when.
He further criticised the Chief Minister’s remarks that crimes such as murder, robbery, theft, chain-snatching and sexual harassment have existed for long and cannot be stopped suddenly. EPS said this was wrong, noting that the police portfolio is with the Chief Minister and that the government had become ineffective.
