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Legislative Council to be revived: Karunanidhi

M. Karunanidhi.

CHENNAI: Chief Minister and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam president M. Karunanidhi on Wednesday promised to revive the Legislative Council.

Intervening in the debate on the State budget, Mr. Karunanidhi told the Assembly that a resolution would be moved in the Assembly shortly. On adoption of the resolution, the Upper House would be re-established.

While the Congress, the ruling party's ally, supported the Chief Minister's proposal, the Communist Party of India and CPI (Marxist) expressed their opposition.

Reminding the Assembly that the Council was abolished on November 1, 1986, the Chief Minister, who referred to his party member Anitha R. Radhakrishnan's demand for revival, said that while Finance Minister K. Anbazhagan was a member of the House in the beginning, he served the Council in the end.

At the time of abolition of the Upper House, M.P. Sivagnanam, a renowned Tamil scholar and chairman of the Council (1978-1986), had expressed anguish over the development.

Glorious history

He referred to the glorious history of the Legislative Council and explained how personalities such as A. Lakshmanaswami Mudaliar (educationist), M.A. Manickavelu (who was chairman of the House during 1964-1970) and Rajaram Naidu (Congress leader) served the Upper House. The Council had functioned as balm when the Assembly witnessed scenes of pandemonium.

Cup and saucer

He quoted DMK founder and his mentor C.N. Annadurai, who had described the Assembly and Council as cup and saucer.

Recalling the two attempts made previously to revive the Council during 1989 and 1996 when his party was in power, Mr. Karunanidhi said that on both occasions, the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) regimes, which succeeded the DMK government, had got resolutions adopted in the Assembly, rescinding the earlier resolutions that called for the revival of the Council.

D. Sudarssanam, Congress Legislature Party leader, said that just as the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha were part of Parliament, there should be Legislative Council (along with the Assembly) in the State. This was urgently needed too, he added.

After N. Nanmaran (CPI-M) and V. Sivapunniyam (CPI) articulated the position of their parties on the issue, the Chief Minister noted that the two parties, which had sent their members to the Rajya Sabha, would form part of the Council on revival.

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