An unusual bonhomie between the ruling AIADMK and the Opposition prevailed in the Tamil Nadu Assembly on Friday after Speaker P. Dhanapal recommended withdrawal of suspension of the seven DMK legislators for six months and cancellations of salary and other privileges entitled to them.
Following his recommendation, Leader of the House K.A. Sengottaiyan, who originally moved the resolution for suspending them, moved another resolution for abrogating the disciplinary proceedings against DMK legislators S. Ambedkumar, K.S. Masthan, P. Murugan, N. Suresh Rajan, K.S. Ravichandran, K. Karthikeyan and Ku.Ka. Selvam.
“It is a generous act on the part of the Speaker to request the cancel the suspension. I expressed apology for the behaviour of the DMK members even on February 18, who knowingly or unknowingly resorted to such activities,” Mr Stalin said.
The privilege against the DMK members was moved by AIADMK member P. Vertivel, who has alleged that their behaviour on the day the AIADMK government faced trust vote violated the privilege of the House.
While recommending their suspension for six months, the Privilege Committee also said that the salary and other privileges entitled to them as MLAs should be cancelled so that “ the action would put an end to the behaviour of the members who nurtured the idea that they could prevent the democratic functioning of the Speaker through violence and highhandedness.”
The committee had justified its recommendation as it felt that it was necessary to “ensure that members are able to express their views for the welfare of the people as per the rule of the House.”
Before making a request for cancellation of the disciplinary proceedings, Mr Dhanapal said he was “fully affected by the incident” and thanked the House for “treating his problem as the problem of the House as the situation reached a stage in which there was no protection for the Speaker himself.”
He said all the seven members had met him personally and sought apology and gave a undertaking that they would behave properly in the future.
“Though the House has come forward to implement the disciplinary proceedings, I do not want press for action apart from issuing a warning as they have tendered apology,” he said.
Mr Sengottaiyan moved another resolution for withdrawing the action and it was welcomed by DMK leader M.K. Stalin.
“Our Speaker has inherited the humanism and mercy from AIADMK founder MGR and late Chief Minister Jayalalithaa,” he said.
