The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : DMK to boycott Assembly proceedings

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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

DMK to boycott Assembly proceedings

Special Correspondent

CHENNAI: The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) will not take part in the proceedings of Assembly till Assembly Speaker D. Jayakumar accedes to its demand on the seating arrangement, DMK floor leader M.K. Stalin said on Thursday.

Mr Stalin told reporters that on Wednesday, he gave a petition to the Speaker, demanding that all members of his party [numbering 23] should be allowed to be seated as a bloc. This morning, the Speaker intimated to him, rejecting the demand. He had written to him that the present seating arrangement had been done as per rules.

When the DMK was in power, the seating arrangement for the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Pattali Makkal Katchi and the Congress was similarly in blocs, the DMK floor leader said.

He alleged that on Wednesday, members of the Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK) had sought to prevent his party members from leaving the House when the DMK was denied a chance to rebut the views of the Leader of Opposition Vijayakant, who had blamed the DMK regime for the civilian deaths in the last days of the war in Sri Lanka in 2009.

DMDK response

In a statement, Mr Vijayakant said that when he had explained how the interests of the State were betrayed during the Chief Ministership of M. Karunanidhi, the DMK members, particularly former Ministers, had shouted and blocked the functioning of the House.

The DMDK members had protested against this act and raised counter slogans. The DMK had staged a walkout because its members were afraid that their leader Mr Karunanidhi would pull them up, if they did not answer his charges, the DMDK leader added.

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