The Tamil Nadu Assembly descended into chaos on Tuesday after DMK MLAs protested Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay’s references to Enforcement Directorate (ED) documents and corruption allegations concerning the previous DMK regime, prompting the Speaker to order their eviction from the House. The confrontation began shortly after proceedings got underway, when DMK Whip EV Velu demanded that remarks made by Vijay during his speech on Monday be expunged from the Assembly records. Velu objected to the Chief Minister citing ED allegations of graft and also raised objections to Vijay’s references to the Sarkaria Commission, arguing that the remarks were contrary to Assembly rules. ALSO READ | ‘Israel’s Corner’: MPs Raise Tough Questions On India’s West Asia Policy Before Jaishankar Speaker Rejects DMK Demand To Expunge Remarks Law Minister R Nirmal Kumar defended Vijay’s statement, saying the Chief Minister had based his remarks on the Sarkaria Commission report and official ED documents. He also reiterated the corruption allegations against the then DMK government. DMK members strongly objected to the defence and continued raising slogans inside the House. Speaker JCD Prabhakar rejected the demand to remove Vijay’s remarks from the records. He said the Chief Minister had referred only to information that was already available in the public domain. “Whatever was discussed about Murasoli Maran he said so. He only spoke about ED information which is on public domain,” Prabhakar said. The Speaker also pointed out that Vijay had referred to former Chief Minister MK Stalin’s arrest under MISA and to earlier Assembly discussions concerning the Sarkaria Commission. “There is nothing wrong in it and no need to expunge anything from CM speech,” he said. ‘Whole Nation Saw What You Did Y
esterday’: Speaker Prabhakar further reminded the protesting MLAs that Vijay had managed to complete his speech on Monday despite their objections. “Whole nation saw what you did yesterday. You tried to stop the Chief Minister from speaking but he completed his speech victoriously. Everything is happening as per rules,” the Speaker said. The DMK legislators, however, refused to back down. They gathered in front of the Speaker’s podium, raising slogans and demanding that Vijay’s remarks be removed from the Assembly records. Leader of the House KA Sengottaiyan then sought action against the protesting legislators under the Assembly rules. “Even after Speaker's verdict, DMK MLAs are causing ruckus here and hence I request you to remove them from the Assembly,” Sengottaiyan said. ALSO READ | Allahabad HC Quashes Activist’s NSA Detention, Orders Rs 5 Lakh Compensation DMK MLAs Evicted After Slogans Continue The Speaker gave the protesting MLAs one minute to return to their seats and said he would allow KN Nehru or EV Velu to speak. The protest continued despite the warning. Prabhakar also accused the MLAs of bringing posters into the House without his permission and said they had ignored his repeated instructions. When one of the protesting legislators approached him, the Speaker told him, “Don't come here. Get out.” With the sloganeering showing no sign of stopping, Prabhakar ordered Assembly marshals to remove the protesting DMK MLAs from the House. The legislators continued raising slogans as they were escorted out of the Assembly hall. The confrontation came a day after Vijay cited ED documents while making corruption allegations linked to the previous DMK regime in his Assembly speech. The DMK has objected to those references and continued to demand that they be removed from the House records.