Leader of Opposition M.K. Stalin on Friday alleged that the Assembly Speaker had not only failed to make proper seating arrangement for the wheel chair-bound DMK president M. Karunanidhi to attend the House, but also had not provided a spacious office to accommodate all the 89 members of the party.
Talking to reporters, Mr. Stalin, who is the party’s floor leader in the Assembly, said the DMK MLAs had met Speaker P. Dhanapal and requested him to make arrangements in the Assembly to facilitate Mr. Karunanidhi’s movements inside the House.
“But he has not considered our request. A seat in the second row had been allotted for our leader and it is impossible for him to enter the House. Our request for an office to match our status as an 89-member opposition party also was not considered. We pressed for our demand once again today,” he said.
Mr. Stalin alleged that the Speaker had refused allow leaders of Opposition to address the House on the day the Chief Minister would make a reply to the Governor’s address. “We raised the issue in the Business Advisory Committee (BAC). Congress leader in the House also made a similar demand. But the Speaker is not ready to accept our request,” he claimed.
Mr. Stalin said in the past Opposition leaders would address the House on the day Chief Minister would make a reply and it was against the rules of Assembly to change the procedure.
