The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : `Members will face drastic action if rules are flouted'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Mar 11, 2005

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

`Members will face drastic action if rules are flouted'

By Our Special Correspondent

CHENNAI, MARCH 10. Yesterday's suo motu statement by the Chief Minister, Jayalalithaa, had a spill over effect in the Assembly today with the Speaker, K. Kalimuthu, ordering eviction of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) member, Parithi Ilamvazhuthi.

This was followed by a walkout by his party colleagues.

The Speaker cautioned the MLAs that he would take drastic action if they did not go by the rules and conventions of the House.

Earlier, L. Santhanam (All-India Forward Bloc), referring to Ms. Jayalalithaa's statement and the DMK's reaction, flayed the DMK legislature party deputy leader, Durai Murugan, for imitating the way the Speaker showed respect to the Chief Minister during yesterday's Opposition protest.

Mr. Kalimuthu said Mr. Durai Murugan's mimicry and imitating skills were well known, but the manner in which the member imitated him was not in keeping with the dignity of the House. "I show respect to my leader and mother, nobody can question this."

Intervening in the debate, the Chief Minister said patience was good but it should not come in the way of one discharging one's responsibilities. While the Treasury Benches and non-DMK Opposition members upheld the dignity of the House and showed respect to the Chair, the DMK MLAs neither adhered to any norm nor could they be reined in by anybody. This had been the story of the last four years.

If the Chair did not take a serious view of this behaviour by the DMK members, it would amount to the Speaker failing to discharge his responsibilities in full, Ms. Jayalalithaa said. It "is not the question of who is the Speaker or the Chief Minister but once you enter the Assembly, you should show respect to the august House and to the office of Speaker. The members should uphold the conventions of the Assembly."

`How are they special'?

Mr. Kalimuthu said senior DMK members were aware of the Assembly rules and procedures. He advised the DMK members to stop addressing others in singular person. He urged them to avoid sarcastic comments and to conduct themselves the way the Congress, Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) and Communist MLAs did. The members of these parties did not clash with the Chair despite critical remarks. In what way were the DMK members more special than others and how could they demand special treatment, the Speaker asked.

`Step-motherly'

While expressing his regrets for addressing the Minister for Forests and Environment, R. Vaithilingam, in singular person in a fit of emotion, Mr. Durai Murugan said the Chief Minister was trying to create an impression that the DMK en bloc was behaving disorderly. It was the step-motherly meted out to the DMK that forced its members to assert their rights, he claimed.

At this stage Mr. Ilamvazhuthi was on his feet, trying to say something. The Speaker ordered the marshals to evict him on the ground that he was speaking out of turn and disrupting the proceedings.

Led by Mr. Durai Murugan, the DMK members walked out describing the ruling as harsh. They returned shortly thereafter.

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