TN Speaker JCD Prabhakar Cautions Ministers Over Out-of-Line Assembly Remarks

Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly Speaker JCD Prabhakar on Tuesday cautioned ministers against making out-of-line remarks in the House in Chennai, stating firmly that he would no longer tolerate deviations from debate topics.

The Speaker issued the directive after Minister for Law and Electricity R Nirmalkumar made a remark regarding former Chief Minister M Karunanidhi, which triggered an immediate uproar from the opposition benches.

Prabhakar intervened swiftly during the session and expunged the minister's remarks from the assembly records. The incident occurred while Nirmalkumar was replying to a special calling attention motion concerning the gunning down of three Tamils in a Karnataka forest area.

Speaking in a stern voice, the Speaker questioned why the minister was speaking in such a manner and whom he was trying to impress, asserting that he could not permit such conduct anymore. He advised ministers that they must keep their responses strictly confined to the subject or issue raised during the discussions.

The Speaker clarified that ministers are permitted to provide responses and references connected to the subjects under debate, including recalling measures taken by previous governments related to the issue. However, he emphasized that they must not drift away from the context of the discussion.

The warning follows a series of recent incidents in the House. Over the last couple of days, the Speaker expunged several remarks made by ministers Nirmalkumar, Aadhav Arjuna, and AG Arunraj for going out of line while responding to the opposition. Prabhakar directed all members of the House to abide by the directions of their respective party whips.