At a time when Tamil Nadu and the rest of the country are witnessing mass protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, the Tamil Nadu Assembly session began on a stormy note on Monday.
Being the first session of the year, the session began with the customary address by Governor Banwarilal Purohit. However, the opposition DMK and its allies walked out during Purohit's address on the grounds that party chief M.K. Stalin was not allowed to raise issues including the Citizenship Act. Purohit reportedly told Stalin that they could debate the issue later.
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Stalin told mediapersons that pending issues such as the Citizenship Act, NRC and the economic slowdown had to be discussed. He accused the AIADMK government of working for the interest of "someone else".
The opposition’s demand to pass a resolution against the Citizenship Act was expected to dominate the session. The opposition DMK MLAs are coming into the Assembly in black shirts to register their protest over the issue.
The House Business Advisory Committee is expected to decide on the duration of the session later on Monday. The debates on the motion of thanks to the governor's address will be taken up from Tuesday.
Last week, the DMK had submitted a copy of a private resolution to be tabled in the House, to the Assembly secretary, urging the Central government to withdraw the CAA. Other issues that could come up for discussion include the victory in the rural local body polls with the DMK-led coalition edging past the ruling AIADMK combine, state government’s proposal to release seven life-term convicts in the assassination of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi and the governor delaying his decision on it
and the state topping the good governance index.
Besides, a few bills are also expected to be taken up for introduction and passage. The session, however, will be stormy with the opposition set to raise the Citizenship Act and other contentious issues.
