CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu assembly witnessed lighter moments on Monday. It all started with speaker J C D Prabhakar appealing to MLAs to uphold the dignity of the House and refrain from making remarks that invite censure or have to be expunged from Tamil Nadu assembly records.Prabhakar made the appeal while responding to DMK whip E V Velu’s complaint about social media and YouTube channels airing remarks that had been expunged from the proceedings.Recalling his interaction with a group of apolitical youngsters, the speaker said the live telecast of assembly proceedings had generated in them an interest in politics. “They asked me why certain remarks were expunged and whether members should refrain from making such comments. I request members, who represent the people of their constituencies, to speak in a manner that maintains the dignity of the House,” he said.Prabhakar asked ruling and opposition whips to ensure that members did not march towards the front rows or make aggressive gestures at one another during proceedings.Velu, however, said members raising their hands or moving towards the front desk did not amount to a violation of House rules, adding that entering the well of the House was a breach.Velu recalled an incident that happened when K Kalimuthu was the speaker. He said in lighter vein that after repeatedly raising his hands failed to catch Kalimuthu’s attention, he once climbed on a desk with both hands raised above his head.Former minister Thangam Thennarasu promptly thanked Velu for “teaching” members a new way of attracting the speaker’s attention, triggering laughter across the House. Chief minister C Joseph Vijay also laughed.Prabhakar, however, had the final word. “I am ready to permit everything, except sitting on the speaker’s chair as it happened earlier,” he said, referring to the dramatic scenes during the confidence motion against the Edappadi K Palaniswami-led AIADMK govt on Feb 18, 2017, when the assembly witnessed unprecedented disorder. The remark drew smiles from the members.
