Congress Councillors Walk Out of Chennai Council Meeting After Clash With DMK

Congress councillors staged a walkout from a local council meeting at the Council hall in Chennai following a sharp clash with DMK councillors. The confrontation began during the meeting when Congress councillor Samuel Thiraviyam congratulated C. Joseph Vijay on assuming office as Chief Minister on behalf of his party and the council.

During his speech, Thiraviyam remarked that the state had entered a new political phase in history by forming a coalition government, before extending his formal wishes to Vijay. DMK councillors immediately objected to the statement, laughed at the Congress councillor, and questioned him about who he had voted for in the Assembly election.

The verbal exchange quickly escalated into chaos inside the Council hall. DMK councillors reportedly went on to call the Congress members "traitors." Despite efforts by the mayor to calm the lawmakers down, the DMK councillors failed to back down, leading the Congress councillors to walk out of the meeting in protest.

Speaking to reporters after the walkout, Thiraviyam alleged that DMK councillors actively prevented him from speaking and even tried to attack the Congress councillors after he brought up the political changes in the state. He also claimed that his microphone was switched off when he congratulated Vijay, which ultimately prompted the walkout.

Defending his party's stance, Thiraviyam added, "Congress is not a hand that destroys, but a hand that embraces." He also pointed out that DMK councillors did not raise any objections against CPI, CPM, and VCK councillors, who are now allied with TVK. Furthermore, those allied councillors did not oppose the treatment meted out to the Congress members during the clash.

Meanwhile, councillor VV Giridharan, who recently defected to TVK from the AMMK, claimed that permission was denied for TVK councillors to speak in the council. Giridharan stated they had sought permission to convey birthday wishes to Chief Minister Vijay and congratulate him on assuming office, but were blocked from doing so.