Southern States - Tamil Nadu

Keep decorum, Speaker warns Ilamvazhuthi, Ponmudi

By Our Special Correspondent

CHENNAI APRIL 24. For the third successive day today, the Speaker, K. Kalimuthu, issued a stern warning to the vociferous DMK MLAs, Parithi Ilamvazhuthi and K. Ponmudi, asking them to maintain decorum in the Assembly.

The two MLAs, who were evicted and suspended yesterday for having made ``indecent and obscene'' remarks on Monday, were repeatedly rapped by the Speaker when they frequently intervened during the discussions on the Police department.

First, the Speaker ticked off the DMK member, J. Anbazhagan, who kicked off a furore making an ``objectionable'' reference to ``Amma'' and ``Appa''. However, unfazed, he accused the AIADMK Government of having turned ``Singara Chennai'' into a ``crime-ridden Chennai''.

Reeling off crimes that had taken place in the past one year, Mr.Anbazhagan said ``in this situation, even MLAs and Ministers' houses will not be spared by dacoits''. He also charged that the police had become a tool in the hands of the ruling party.

At this, the Chief Minister, Ms. Jayalalithaa, charged that it was the previous DMK regime which used the police to arrest her and rob her residence.

But the DMK deputy leader, Durai Murugan, countered saying he too could accuse the present regime of having used the police force to arrest his party president, M. Karunanidhi. At this point, Mr. Ponmudi and Mr. Ilamvazhuthi too were on their feet, but the Speaker admonished them. While Mr. Ponmudi immediately sat down, Mr.Ilamvazhuthi persisted with his objections for a while.

Later, when Anwer Rhazza (AIADMK) launched into a counter-tirade against the erstwhile DMK regime, Mr. Ilamvazhuthi was on his feet, seeking to raise a point of order. An angry Speaker brushed him aside, saying, ``we know your standard. You sit down''.

Again when Mr. Rhazza said Mr. Karunanidhi had ``falsely'' accused Ms. Jayalalithaa of having conspired a bomb explosion in the Madurai temple and the attack on the former Chief Secretary, T.V. Venkatraman, during the DMK regime, Mr. Ilamvazhuthi rose to protest.

Following a plea made by Mr. Durai Murugan, the Speaker budged. But, when Mr. Ilamvazhuthi said that under the erstwhile AIADMK regime, Ms. Jayalalithaa too had made allegations against the Narasimha Rao Government, triggering a protest from the Treasury Benches, his remark was expunged.

A little later it was Mr.Ponmudi who ran into trouble with the Chair when he made a remark while being seated.

Heated exchanges

The House witnessed a heated debate on the February 1998 Coimbatore bomb blast when Mr.Rhazza said the serial explosion was a showcase of ``Mr. Karunanidhi's interference with police functioning''. While Mr. Durai Murugan said that even during the Jayalalithaa regime riots had taken place at Kodiangulam and Sankaralingapuram in Tuticorin district, the Chief Minister retorted saying the Coimbatore bomb explosions were ``unprecedented'' and could not be compared with riots.

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