Vijay corruption allegations trigger DMK Assembly protest
The Tamil Nadu Assembly witnessed dramatic scenes on Tuesday after DMK legislators strongly protested Chief Minister Vijay's corruption allegations against the previous DMK government.
The confrontation ended with several DMK members being removed from the House after they continued raising slogans and gathered near the Speaker's podium despite repeated warnings to return to their seats.
The dispute was triggered by remarks made by Vijay during his Assembly speech a day earlier. The Chief Minister cited an Enforcement Directorate document while alleging that contractors were asked to pay between 7.5 per cent and 10 per cent of government contract values as party funds.
Vijay said the alleged collections were linked to works handled by the Municipal Administration and Water Supply Department during the previous DMK administration.
He also referred to the Sarkaria Commission report while discussing allegations connected to the Veeranam water project.
When proceedings resumed on Tuesday, DMK Whip EV Velu demanded that the Chief Minister's remarks be removed from the official Assembly records.
Velu objected to the references concerning alleged party funding and the Sarkaria Commission, arguing that such comments should not remain part of the proceedings.
DMK lawmakers backed the demand and began raising slogans inside the House.
State Law Minister R Nirmal Kumar defended Vijay's statements, saying the Chief Minister had relied on Enforcement Directorate material and information linked to the Sarkaria Commission.
He argued that the remarks were based on information already available in the public domain and therefore did not warrant removal from the Assembly record.
Speaker rejects DMK demand to remove Vijay corruption remarks
Speaker JCD Prabhakar refused to expunge the Chief Minister's remarks and rejected the DMK's demand.
He said Vijay had referred to material already publicly available and maintained that there was no basis for deleting the statements from the official proceedings.
The Speaker also referred to earlier political discussions involving DMK leaders and previous Assembly references to the Sarkaria Commission.
The ruling failed to calm the opposition benches. DMK legislators continued shouting slogans and moved closer to the Speaker's podium while demanding that the remarks be withdrawn.
Leader of the House KA Sengottaiyan then sought action against the protesting members under Assembly rules.
The Speaker gave the legislators one minute to return to their seats and said senior DMK members, including KN Nehru or EV Velu, would be allowed to speak.
However, the protest continued.
Prabhakar also objected to posters that were allegedly brought into the House without permission and repeatedly asked the members to maintain order.
When the demonstration continued, Assembly marshals were instructed to remove the protesting lawmakers from the House.
The legislators continued raising slogans as they were escorted out of the Assembly hall.
The episode has sharpened the political confrontation between the Vijay-led government and the DMK. The controversy over the ED document, alleged party funds and Sarkaria Commission references is likely to remain a major issue in Tamil Nadu politics, particularly as both sides continue to challenge each other's claims inside and outside the Assembly.
