Ex-speaker Pandian dead
05/01/2020
Mr. Pandian shot into the limelight when he became the 11th Assembly Speaker in February 1985, a post he held for four years. In November 1986, when the Opposition had confronted him, Mr. Pandian told the Assembly: “Sky is the limit [for me].”
Five months later, the Assembly awarded S. Balasubramanian, then editor of the Tamil weekly Ananda Vikatan, three months’ rigorous imprisonment for publishing a cartoon. For the next couple of days, it was left to Mr. Pandian to defend the House’s decision.
The row was resolved a few days later with the Speaker ordering the release of the journalist in deference to the Chief Minister’s wishes.
There were other controversies associated with Mr. Pandian’s innings. In a first, he, in December 1986, disqualified 10 MLAs of the DMK for taking part in an agitation to burn copies of the Constitution. In January 1988, when the Janaki Ramachandran ministry sought a vote of confidence in the House, Mr. Pandian, in a single day, disqualified 33 MLAs belonging to the rival faction of the AIADMK led by Jayalalithaa.
C. Ponnaiyan, who was Law and Education Minister in the 1980s, said Mr. Pandian’s actions were based on his interpretation of the Constitution to the effect that “the Assembly and the office of Speaker are independent authorities which cannot be controlled by judiciary or executive.”
When the AIADMK factions led by Janaki Ramachandran and Jayalalithaa merged in February 1989, Mr. Pandian opted out. In 1991, he contested unsuccessfully in his native place as an Independent with the DMK’s support. In August 1993, he returned to the AIADMK, after associating himself briefly with the Tamil Nadu Movement for Good Governance led by Subramanian Swamy. In 1999, he was elected to the Lok Sabha from the Tirunelveli and headed the AIADMK’s parliamentary party in the Lok Sabha.
After Jayalalithaa’s death, Mr. Pandian refused to accept the leadership of V. K. Sasikala and publicly raised suspicions about the circumstances leading to the former Chief Minister’s death. He aligned with O. Panneerselvam who led the AIADMK’s revolt against Sasikala in February 2017.
Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami and Mr. Panneerselvam visited the residence of the former Speaker to pay homage.
05/01/2020
Mr. Pandian shot into the limelight when he became the 11th Assembly Speaker in February 1985, a post he held for four years. In November 1986, when the Opposition had confronted him, Mr. Pandian told the Assembly: “Sky is the limit [for me].”
Five months later, the Assembly awarded S. Balasubramanian, then editor of the Tamil weekly Ananda Vikatan, three months’ rigorous imprisonment for publishing a cartoon. For the next couple of days, it was left to Mr. Pandian to defend the House’s decision.
The row was resolved a few days later with the Speaker ordering the release of the journalist in deference to the Chief Minister’s wishes.
There were other controversies associated with Mr. Pandian’s innings. In a first, he, in December 1986, disqualified 10 MLAs of the DMK for taking part in an agitation to burn copies of the Constitution. In January 1988, when the Janaki Ramachandran ministry sought a vote of confidence in the House, Mr. Pandian, in a single day, disqualified 33 MLAs belonging to the rival faction of the AIADMK led by Jayalalithaa.
C. Ponnaiyan, who was Law and Education Minister in the 1980s, said Mr. Pandian’s actions were based on his interpretation of the Constitution to the effect that “the Assembly and the office of Speaker are independent authorities which cannot be controlled by judiciary or executive.”
When the AIADMK factions led by Janaki Ramachandran and Jayalalithaa merged in February 1989, Mr. Pandian opted out. In 1991, he contested unsuccessfully in his native place as an Independent with the DMK’s support. In August 1993, he returned to the AIADMK, after associating himself briefly with the Tamil Nadu Movement for Good Governance led by Subramanian Swamy. In 1999, he was elected to the Lok Sabha from the Tirunelveli and headed the AIADMK’s parliamentary party in the Lok Sabha.
After Jayalalithaa’s death, Mr. Pandian refused to accept the leadership of V. K. Sasikala and publicly raised suspicions about the circumstances leading to the former Chief Minister’s death. He aligned with O. Panneerselvam who led the AIADMK’s revolt against Sasikala in February 2017.
Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami and Mr. Panneerselvam visited the residence of the former Speaker to pay homage.
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