The friction within the ruling party came to the fore in the Legislative Assembly on Monday when AIADMK Andipatti MLA Thangatamilselvan, a loyalist of party deputy general secretary T.T.V. Dhinakaran, stormed out of the House after the Speaker refused him permission to raise a query.
During the Question Hour, Mr. Thangatamilselvan sought to raise a query relating to the Health Department soon after Health Minister C. Vijaya Baskar replied to a question posed by AIADMK MLA R. Thangathurai (Nilakottai).
However, Speaker P. Dhanapal refused to grant him permission to speak.
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A visibly agitated Mr. Thangatamilselvan was seen standing and saying something looking at the Speaker.
The latter then said it was his prerogative to allow members to raise questions. Unconvinced, the Andipatti MLA agitatedly walked out of the House, much to the amusement of the opposition DMK MLAs.
In the afternoon too Mr. Thangatamilselvan raised some points which were expunged by the Speaker.
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After the debate on the GST Bill began, Leader of Opposition M.K. Stalin sparred with the ruling party MLAs over some comments made by them. But these were expunged by the Speaker, prompting the Andipatti MLA to be up on his feet.
The Speaker sought to know why the legislator was creating problems since the morning. When Mr. Thangatamilselvan raised some questions over the Speaker's decision, they too were expunged. The MLA also made a reference hailing some AIADMK (Amma) office-bearers.