Speaker J C D Prabhakar Warns Ministers Against Deviating From Assembly Debates

Assembly Speaker J C D Prabhakar on Tuesday warned ministers that he would not tolerate out-of-line remarks in the House and directed them to confine their responses strictly to the subjects under discussion in Chennai.

The Speaker issued the warning after Law Minister R Nirmalkumar made remarks concerning former Chief Minister M Karunanidhi, triggering strong protests and an uproar from the DMK benches. Prabhakar intervened to control the situation and announced that he was expunging the minister's remarks from the official Assembly records.

Prabhakar addressed the House sternly regarding the conduct of ministers during proceedings. He stated that he did not understand why the minister was speaking in such a manner or whom he was trying to impress, adding firmly that he could no longer permit such behaviour.

The incident took place while Nirmalkumar was replying to a special calling attention motion regarding the gunning down of three Tamils in a Karnataka forest.

Clarifying the rules of engagement, the Speaker explained that ministers are permitted to cite references and respond to points relevant to the specific subject under discussion. He noted that they could also refer to measures undertaken by the previous government regarding the issue, but stressed that they must not deviate from the context of the active debate.

The warning follows a series of recent interventions in the Assembly. Over the past few days, the Speaker had expunged several remarks made by ministers Nirmalkumar, Aadhav Arjuna, and K G Arunraj for straying off topic while delivering responses to the opposition.

In addition to warning the treasury benches, the Speaker directed all members of the House to abide strictly by the instructions issued by their respective party whips.