Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
Tamil Nadu Assembly proceedings turned fiery as Leader of Opposition Udhayanidhi Stalin launched a sharp attack on Chief Minister Vijay over law and order and the functioning of the TVK government, moments after Vijay walked out of the House following his response to the Opposition.
Udhayanidhi hit back at the Chief Minister’s remark that “no one should run away”, asking, “Who’s the one who now ran away?”
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The exchange came during a wider Opposition attack on the government, with Udhayanidhi questioning Vijay over governance, unfulfilled promises and the alleged deterioration of law and order in the state.
UDHAYANIDHI ATTACKS VIJAY GOVERNMENT
Speaking in the Assembly, Udhayanidhi said he wanted answers from Vijay, who holds the Police portfolio, over what he described as the “collapse of law and order” in Tamil Nadu.
“I want answers from CM Vijay, who holds the Police portfolio, on the collapse of law and order in the state,” Udhayanidhi said.
He also attacked the government over its performance since coming to power.
“It has been 116 days since this Government came to power. It has not introduced a single scheme; instead, it is neither endorsing schemes brought by the DMK regime nor scrapping them,” he said.
Comparing the present government with the previous DMK regime, Udhayanidhi said, “The Tamil Nadu Government was in top gear when the DMK was in power, but it is now in reverse gear under TVK rule.”
He also accused the government of a gap between its promises and announcements.
“There is a contradiction between promises and announcements,” Udhayanidhi said, adding that the TVK government was “concentrating only on promoting reels content”.
‘WHO’S THE ONE WHO NOW RAN AWAY?’
The political exchange intensified after Vijay responded to the Opposition and walked out of the Assembly.
Vijay had said that “no one should run away” before leaving the House.
Udhayanidhi immediately hit back, asking, “Who’s the one who now ran away?”
The remark triggered another round of exchanges between the Opposition and TVK leaders inside the Assembly.
KARUR STAMPEDE REFERENCE SPARKS FRESH CLASH
The confrontation then moved towards a sensitive reference to the Karur stampede, with Udhayanidhi explaining why several Standard Operating Procedures, or SOPs, had been put in place following a particular incident.
Udhayanidhi indicated that he did not want to remind the House about the incident that led to the SOPs, but suggested that speaking about it could turn the matter into a major controversy.
“I don’t wish to remind you about after which event or after which incident this SOP [Standard Operating Procedure] was issued. If I start speaking about that now, this will turn into a huge matter,” Udhayanidhi said.
He also questioned whether he should explain or discuss the Karur incident in the Assembly.
TVK leaders challenged the Opposition during the exchange, following which the Speaker intervened and stopped further discussion on the matter.
SPEAKER STOPS KARUR DEBATE
The Speaker repeatedly asked members not to continue the discussion, saying the matter was under investigation and was before the court.
“No, no, no need, no need,” the Speaker told Udhayanidhi when he sought to continue.
Udhayanidhi responded: “Can I speak?”
The Speaker refused permission.
“No, no! Hon’ble Ministers, nothing more on this. We are going to wind up. Please sit down. The case is in court, so no need for this. No, no, it is under investigation. Do not speak about the Karur incident, please take your seats,” the Speaker said.
When Udhayanidhi sought permission again, saying he would speak only if the Speaker allowed him to, the Speaker replied: “No, permission is not granted. Permission is denied to both sides. Please move on; let us allow them to speak. On this issue… there is no further debate on this issue.”
The Speaker then sought to bring the exchange to an end.
“I think we should wind up… Let us conclude this debate with this and allow other members to speak. I tell the Hon’ble Ministers, please conclude this debate here. Please, no more,” the Speaker said.
DMK SEEKS EXPUNGING OF VIJAY’S REMARK
The dispute also spilled into a separate objection from the DMK over Vijay’s “run away” remark.
DMK MLA O Panneerselvam urged the Speaker to expunge the comment, calling it unparliamentary.
“He said that he will respond on Monday and then he told you that please see they don’t run away. That is unparliamentary word, please remove it,” Panneerselvam said.
The Speaker, however, refused to expunge the remark, saying: “It can’t be expunged.”
The exchanges added another flashpoint to the Assembly proceedings, with the Opposition targeting the new TVK government over its record in office while the Speaker repeatedly stepped in to prevent the debate from extending to the Karur incident.
– Ends
SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
