Certain remarks made by Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami in the Assembly on Friday about the judiciary were expunged by the Speaker after the former requested that they be removed from Assembly records.
The expunging of the observations of the Chief Minister was a rare incident.
Mr. Palaniswami’s statements emerged from an issue raised by DMK legislator and former Minister I. Periyasamy (Attur) in the House over an enquiry by the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti Corruption (DVAC) into some allegations against the Chief Minister in the awarding of government tenders.
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The DMK MLA was speaking in the debate on the demand for grants for Police Department.
Though the Chief Minister initially said the issue could not be discussed in the House, since it was pending before a court, he went ahead and made certain remarks about the functioning of judges.
While the DMK members listened to his explanations, many in the treasury benches, including Law Minister C.Ve. Shanmugam, attempted in vain to draw the attention of the Chief Minister and the Speaker.
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However, Mr. Palaniswami later rose to request the Speaker to expunge his remarks about judges.
When it attracted laughter from the DMK benches, the Chief Minister said there was nothing to laugh about.
Kodanad case
Later, Mr. Periyasamy questioned why action has not been taken against a reporter over the Kodanad murder case. Mr. Palaniswami said that a defamation case has been registered in this regard and the matter was pending before a court.
At this point, the Law Minister rose to point out that it was the Tamil Nadu police that secured the journalist from Delhi, but he was let off as the magistrate refused to remand him in judicial custody. Mr. Palaniswami joined the debate to point out that it was some advocates belonging to the DMK who appeared on behalf of the accused person to obtain bail.