Tamil Nadu Leader of the Opposition (LoP) Edappadi Palaniswami and several All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) MLAs have been suspended for the entire assembly session.
The suspension followed a resolution passed on Wednesday in the Tamil Nadu Assembly.
The suspension came after AIADMK MLAs raised slogans against the DMK government over the Kallakurichi hooch tragedy and demanded the resignation of Chief Minister M.K. Stalin.
Tamil Nadu Speaker M. Appavu ordered the eviction of the AIADMK MLAs who disrupted the assembly proceedings. The MLAs had demanded an adjournment of the Q&A session and continued to raise slogans over the tragedy.
Speaker Appavu stated, “Many important issues need to be discussed in the Assembly. The caste census resolution is to be passed. The CM also felt that the Opposition must be part of this. So, the CM intervened and requested not to suspend AIADMK MLAs for the entire session. As per rule 56, AIADMK gave a motion for adjournment. But they are not ready to listen to what I am saying.”
He added, “We never stopped AIADMK leaders from speaking in the assembly. But they should speak at the required time. It is painful to see in a democratic assembly, the AIADMK leaders keep on disrupting the proceedings. If this continues, how will other MLAs speak about their constituency?”
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) leader Durai Murugan commented, “If they want to speak about the Kallakurichi tragedy, they should have spoken with guts in the assembly. If they had spoken inside the assembly, our CM would have given a befitting reply citing what happened during their government. They fear that they can’t reply to the CM.”
Meanwhile, the death toll in the hooch tragedy in Tamil Nadu’s Kallakurichi district rose to 59 on Tuesday, according to the district administration.
So far, 32 people have died at the Government Kallakurichi Medical College and Hospital, 20 at the Government Mohan Kumaramangalam Medical College and Hospital in Salem, 4 at the Government Villupuram Medical College and Hospital, and three at the Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER) in Puducherry.
According to hospital authorities, 111 persons are undergoing treatment at Kallakurichi Government Medical College hospital.
A total of 223 patients were admitted to four hospitals after consuming the illicit alcohol. (ANI)