DMK MLAs Evicted From Tamil Nadu Assembly Over CM Vijay's Corruption Remarks; Stalin Questions House Dignity

On September 8, the final day of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly's budget session, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) members were evicted from the House following a protest over Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay's reply in the Assembly the previous day.

DMK whip E.V. Velu said the Chief Minister's September 7 references to Enforcement Directorate documents, the Sarkaria Commission report, the MISA Act and vigilance cases breached procedure, arguing that matters still under investigation should not be discussed on the floor of the House, and demanded that the remarks be expunged from the records.

Law Minister Nirmal Kumar defended the Chief Minister's statement, citing the Sarkaria Commission report and Enforcement Directorate documents and repeating the government's corruption allegations against the previous DMK administration. Speaker J.C.D. Prabhakar declined to expunge the remarks, saying the Chief Minister had referred to matters that had already been discussed in the House.

After the ruling, DMK members continued raising slogans and moved towards the Speaker's podium. The Speaker directed the marshals to evict the protesting DMK legislators from the Assembly hall.

Speaking afterwards, DMK president and former Chief Minister M.K. Stalin questioned whether the Assembly was being conducted with dignity. He objected in particular to the Chief Minister's references to the detention of DMK leaders under the Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA) during the Emergency, which the party said trivialised the sacrifices of its veterans.

The budget session concluded on September 8 after the House completed debate on the final demands for grants, covering departments including Transport, Public Works and Finance.