DMK walks out of assembly, to boycott session

DMK walks out of assembly, to boycott session

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:03.02.2021

The DMK, the principal opposition, staged a walkout when governor Banwarilal Purohit started his address to the state assembly on Tuesday. The party was protesting against the governor’s inaction on the petition it had submitted listing out corruption charges against the ruling establishment. The party also questioned the governor’s inaction over a cabinet resolution urging the release of the seven convicts undergoing imprisonment in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case.

“When the governor started his address, I drew his attention to the petition that we have submitted to him, listing corruption charges against the chief minister (Edappadi K Palaniswami), deputy chief minister (O Panneerselvam) and a few other ministers in the cabinet,” Stalin told reporters, at Kalaivanar Arangam, where the assembly session was held to ensure Covid protocols such as social distancing.

“He neither acted on our petition nor on the cabinet resolution seeking release of the convicts held in the Rajiv Gandhi case,” Stalin said. Instead of responding to the DMK’s questions, the governor referred to the central budget and the announcement of ₹1 lakh crore for the highways project, he said. “I have already termed the central budget a lollipop. Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced setting up of AIIMS, Madurai in 2015. They enacted a drama of laying the foundation stone ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. But not even a brick has been moved there so far,” Stalin said. “Hence, we have decided to boycott the entire assembly session,” he added.

PMK founder S Ramadoss too felt the governor’s address did not have anything new to offer, other than praising the state government for its efforts during Covid-19 and attracting industrial investments. “Other than giving a telephone number ‘1100’ to enable people to address their grievances, there was nothing new in the address. I hope there will be new announcements at least in the reply to the governor’s address,” Ramadoss said. MDMK general secretary Vaiko said the governor’s address merely reflected the failures of AIADMK’s 10-year rule in the state.

IN PROTEST: DMK president M K Stalin outside the Kalaivanar Arangam, where the assembly session was held, on Tuesday