Under the ADMK rule, the Opposition parties hardly have any say in the Assembly, unable even to air their views on vital issues affecting the people, DMK Rajya Sabha member Poet Kanimozhi has said.
Addressing a public meeting organised by the party at Tiruvotriyur in Tiruvallur district on August 1, she said the Assembly was known for encouraging animated discussions and heated debates on issues of public importance. It had also passed landmark resolutions and amendments to laws and advocated freedom of speech and expression. But, of late, the Opposition could not raise public issues, leave alone taking part in debates.
Under Rule 110, she said, Chief Minister Jayalalitha had made 92 statements in a fortnight. The Opposition parties could not raise any objection or pass any comment on the announcements made by the government.
Kanimozhi said that when DMK Treasurer and floor leader Thalapathi M.K. Stalin wanted to raise the issue of violation of rules that resulted in the collapse of an 11-storey building at Moulivakkam in Chennai, he was told that since a commission was seized of the matter, it could not be discussed in the Assembly. But the Speaker allowed the Minister concerned to make a detailed statement on the same subject giving a clean chit to the authorities thus giving a direction to the enquiry.
She said while the opposition members were not allowed to raise the issues of their constituencies, the ruling party members rose up sing paeans for Jayalalitha for most of the time liberally allotted to them by degrading themselves to the lowest levels and then in one line place a simple demand for their constituencies. In their turn, the Ministers concerned rose up repeat the same exercise of singing in praise of their ‘Amma’ lowering their self-respect and dignity acknowledging that they were ministers only by the grace of their leader.
“In fact it was not their ‘Amma’ who made them ministers but by attacking Kalaignar. For instance one Vijayabhaskar was made a minister following his substandard attack against Kalaignar”, she said. It was also funny that ministers were giving replies in 2014 for questions raised in 2011. But in Parliament the questions were replied the very next month.
On Jayalalitha resorting to rule 110 to read out statements daily, Kanimozhi said it was a gross misuse of the rule meant for disclosing matters of urgent necessity on which debates were barred. Kalaignar might have used it for about ten times in five years but Jayalalitha had already scored a century and still continued, because she had no guts to face meaningful debate and questions from the DMK. She came to the House daily with papers on 110 announcements, she said.
In both Houses of Parliament un-parliamentary words were immediately expunged by the president officers. But in Tamil Nadu Assembly not the mean and despicable epithets used by ruling party members and ministers were entered into the minutes of the House like the word ‘odukaaligal’ used by a minister to refer to opposition members who stage walkout. But even most ordinary words used in the society used by opposition members were sought to be expunged, she said and cited the speech of a DMDK member complaining the spiraling prices of tomatoes and onion by which womenfolk were struggling to prepare ‘Sambaar’ on which Minister Valarmathi asked the Speaker to expunge the word ‘saambaar’.
Kanimozhi sarcastically said the only development that the State witnessed in three years of ADMK regime was the increase in incidence of crimes against women which were 6.940 in 2011, 7,192 in 2012 and 7,475 in 2013. The regime of a woman appointed government pleader two years after a 13 year girl Punitha was raped and murdered in December 2012 and that lawyer was also seeking adjournments. Thus she was preventing justice for the injustice committed to that young girl, Kanimozhi alleged.
Addressing a public meeting organised by the party at Tiruvotriyur in Tiruvallur district on August 1, she said the Assembly was known for encouraging animated discussions and heated debates on issues of public importance. It had also passed landmark resolutions and amendments to laws and advocated freedom of speech and expression. But, of late, the Opposition could not raise public issues, leave alone taking part in debates.
Under Rule 110, she said, Chief Minister Jayalalitha had made 92 statements in a fortnight. The Opposition parties could not raise any objection or pass any comment on the announcements made by the government.
Kanimozhi said that when DMK Treasurer and floor leader Thalapathi M.K. Stalin wanted to raise the issue of violation of rules that resulted in the collapse of an 11-storey building at Moulivakkam in Chennai, he was told that since a commission was seized of the matter, it could not be discussed in the Assembly. But the Speaker allowed the Minister concerned to make a detailed statement on the same subject giving a clean chit to the authorities thus giving a direction to the enquiry.
She said while the opposition members were not allowed to raise the issues of their constituencies, the ruling party members rose up sing paeans for Jayalalitha for most of the time liberally allotted to them by degrading themselves to the lowest levels and then in one line place a simple demand for their constituencies. In their turn, the Ministers concerned rose up repeat the same exercise of singing in praise of their ‘Amma’ lowering their self-respect and dignity acknowledging that they were ministers only by the grace of their leader.
“In fact it was not their ‘Amma’ who made them ministers but by attacking Kalaignar. For instance one Vijayabhaskar was made a minister following his substandard attack against Kalaignar”, she said. It was also funny that ministers were giving replies in 2014 for questions raised in 2011. But in Parliament the questions were replied the very next month.
On Jayalalitha resorting to rule 110 to read out statements daily, Kanimozhi said it was a gross misuse of the rule meant for disclosing matters of urgent necessity on which debates were barred. Kalaignar might have used it for about ten times in five years but Jayalalitha had already scored a century and still continued, because she had no guts to face meaningful debate and questions from the DMK. She came to the House daily with papers on 110 announcements, she said.
In both Houses of Parliament un-parliamentary words were immediately expunged by the president officers. But in Tamil Nadu Assembly not the mean and despicable epithets used by ruling party members and ministers were entered into the minutes of the House like the word ‘odukaaligal’ used by a minister to refer to opposition members who stage walkout. But even most ordinary words used in the society used by opposition members were sought to be expunged, she said and cited the speech of a DMDK member complaining the spiraling prices of tomatoes and onion by which womenfolk were struggling to prepare ‘Sambaar’ on which Minister Valarmathi asked the Speaker to expunge the word ‘saambaar’.
Kanimozhi sarcastically said the only development that the State witnessed in three years of ADMK regime was the increase in incidence of crimes against women which were 6.940 in 2011, 7,192 in 2012 and 7,475 in 2013. The regime of a woman appointed government pleader two years after a 13 year girl Punitha was raped and murdered in December 2012 and that lawyer was also seeking adjournments. Thus she was preventing justice for the injustice committed to that young girl, Kanimozhi alleged.
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