Governor Ch. Vidyasagar Rao has sought a report from the Assembly Secretary on the circumstances that led to the ruckus in the Assembly during the vote of confidence on Saturday.
On separate complaints from former Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam and Leader of the Opposition M.K. Stalin, the Governor directed the Assembly Secretary to give a “factual report” on the happenings, a Raj Bhavan official said.
Mr. Stalin had alleged that extraordinary police presence was mobilised, giving an impression of a war-like situation around the Assembly complex and an atmosphere of terror. Though he was the Leader of the Opposition, his vehicle was intercepted by police for checking. When the demands of the DMK for a secret ballot and postponement of the vote of confidence were not considered by the Speaker, DMK members had resorted to a protest .
The proceedings were adjourned and when the House was re-convened, the Speaker tried again to carry out open voting. Then, the DMK MLAs sat on a “peaceful dharna”. He said the police entered the House presumably on instructions given in advance by the Speaker. “The police and Assembly guards forcibly evicted us from the House and in this process many of us sustained bleeding injuries,” he said.
The issue of a large number of police personnel, including four IPS officers entering the Assembly in Watch & Ward uniform, led to a controversy on Saturday. Four senior IPS officers were among nine police officers who were authorised by the Assembly Secretary to enter the Assembly in white uniforms.
Sources in Mr. Panneerselvam’s camp said the former Chief Minister had also accused the police of high-handedness in the Assembly and appealed to the Governor to declare the entire proceedings in the Assembly as null and void.
