AIADMK Legislators Don Black Shirts in Tamil Nadu Assembly to Protest Speaker's Silence
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Synopsis
AIADMK MLAs protested in black shirts at the Tamil Nadu Assembly, accusing the Speaker of not allowing them to speak. Leader Edappadi K. Palaniswami highlighted issues regarding TASMAC and the ED's involvement in financial irregularities, asserting the need for transparency in legal proceedings.
Key Takeaways
- AIADMK MLAs wore black shirts to protest.
- Speaker M. Appal denied them a chance to speak.
- Palaniswami accused the government of avoiding scrutiny.
- Financial irregularities involving TASMAC and ED were raised.
- The case transfer request to the Supreme Court was discussed.
Chennai, April 8 (NationPress) On Tuesday, AIADMK legislators donned black shirts within the Tamil Nadu Assembly to protest against the Speaker's refusal to allow them to voice their concerns during the proceedings.
The Leader of the Opposition (LoP) and AIADMK General Secretary, Edappadi K. Palaniswami, accused Speaker M. Appal of obstructing their attempts to address critical issues.
This protest came after AIADMK lawmakers staged a walkout on Monday when the Speaker allegedly denied their request for a discussion during Zero Hour.
On that day, several AIADMK MLAs who brandished placards inside the Assembly were suspended for the remainder of the session.
Speaking to the press outside the Assembly, Palaniswami revealed his intention to raise concerns regarding the Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (TASMAC), which recently approached the Supreme Court to transfer all cases related to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) from the Madras High Court to another state.
He highlighted that the ED had carried out raids on liquor distilleries supplying to TASMAC and reportedly uncovered financial discrepancies amounting to ₹1,000 crore.
In response, TASMAC filed lawsuits against the ED, including allegations of employee mistreatment and a request to prevent further actions by the agency.
A two-judge bench of the Madras High Court initially took up the case but later recused themselves.
The Chief Justice subsequently formed a new bench to hear the matter. However, TASMAC requested that the new bench refrain from proceeding and sought the Supreme Court's intervention to transfer all related cases to a different state's High Court.
“I aimed to bring this serious issue to the State Government's attention, but I was not permitted to speak,” Palaniswami stated.
He emphasized that this was a matter of public interest.
“When the Speaker and the Leader of the House claimed that sub-judice matters cannot be discussed, we attempted to clarify that we were not discussing the case itself, but the rationale behind TASMAC's desire to move the case out of Tamil Nadu,” he said.
He alleged that the State Government was trying to shift the legal proceedings elsewhere to evade media scrutiny.
“If the case is heard outside Tamil Nadu, it may escape public and media attention,” he cautioned.
Palaniswami further remarked, “During my tenure as Chief Minister, I faced a case in the Madras High Court. We did not seek to transfer it elsewhere. TASMAC is a government entity, not an individual matter.”
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