O Panneerselvam Urges Assembly Speaker to Accord Due Respect to Udhayanidhi Stalin

Raising the issue of legislative decorum during the ongoing session in Chennai on Friday, former chief minister and MLA O Panneerselvam urged Tamil Nadu Assembly Speaker J C D Prabhakar to accord proper dignity and protocol to Leader of the Opposition Udhayanidhi Stalin inside the House.

Drawing attention to established parliamentary conventions, Panneerselvam noted that the leader of the opposition holds an equivalent stature to cabinet ministers.

Panneerselvam pointed out that the Speaker has been in the assembly since the era of M G Ramachandran and is fully aware of long-standing House traditions. He emphasized that opposition leaders must be provided adequate time to articulate their views during debates.

Highlighting recent interruptions during speeches, Panneerselvam noted that the leader of the opposition is presently forced to stand up and sit down multiple times just to register his points. Calling the situation unfortunate, he stressed that the position must be accorded the due respect it commands.

Responding to the remarks raised by Panneerselvam on the floor of the House, Speaker J C D Prabhakar stated that he would take care of the issue.