Pandemonium in TN Assembly over Sumangali Cable issue

Pandemonium prevailed in the Tamil Nadu Assembly for nearly 15 minutes today over the remarks made by Chief Minister Jayalalithaa against DMK chief M Karunanidhi, which ultimately led to the eviction of all DMK members from the house.

The trouble began immediately after the question hour when Sekhar Babu of the AIADMK drew the chair's attention to Karunanidhi's visit to the Raj Bhavan last Saturday, accompanied by Union minister Dayanidhi Maran.

Giving a lengthy reply, Jayalalithaa said Karunanidhi made the visit "clandestinely" to scuttle the government's decision to take over Sumangali Cable Vision owned by his family. This triggered protests from the DMK legislators.

After naming a few DMK members, Speaker K Kalimuthu directed the watch and ward staff to evict the legislators who rushed to the well of the house in protest. Ignoring the chair's directives, the DMK legislators continued to shout inside the house. The watch and ward staff ultimately directed them out of the house.

Once outside the Assembly hall, the DMK legislators continued to shout from the lobby, raising slogans against the Speaker. Kalimuthu then ordered their eviction even from the lobby, following which they trooped out.

Supporting their ally, members of the Congress, PMK, CPI(M) and the CPI also walked out of the house. However, after a few minutes, barring the DMK, other members returned to the House to participate in the debate on the interim-budget.