AIADMK Stages Walkout From Tamil Nadu Assembly Over Fisherman Issue

The opposition AIADMK staged a walkout from the Tamil Nadu Assembly in Chennai on Wednesday after Speaker JCD Prabhakar ruled that an urgent issue raised by the party would only be taken up the following day.

The disruption occurred shortly after proceedings began with announcements by Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay regarding health initiatives, milk procurement price hikes, and official vehicles for legislators. Following the announcements, former Chief Minister and AIADMK General Secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami urged the Speaker to immediately take up a matter for which his party had submitted a prior notice.

Speaker JCD Prabhakar repeatedly appealed to the members to maintain decorum and follow established democratic procedures. He assured the House that urgent issues submitted by legislators had already been forwarded to the state government for necessary action and would be formally addressed on Thursday morning.

The Speaker noted that the House had a heavy legislative schedule for the day, which included critical discussions on departmental grants for three government departments. He requested AIADMK members to return to their seats and allow the scheduled business to proceed.

Unsatisfied with the Speaker's decision to defer the matter, AIADMK legislators walked out of the Assembly chamber in protest.

Speaking to reporters outside the Assembly complex, Palaniswami criticized the ruling TVK government over its response to a recent tragedy involving fishermen from Mayiladuthurai. He stated that a fisherman had been shot dead by Iranian pirates while working in Saudi Arabia, and three other fishermen sustained injuries and were receiving medical treatment.

Palaniswami alleged that the opposition had attempted to raise the incident in the Assembly for five consecutive days without receiving a concrete response from the administration. He demanded that the Tamil Nadu government take immediate steps to repatriate the deceased fisherman's body to the state, ensure quality medical care for the injured persons, and provide financial assistance to the affected families.