The Tamil Nadu legislative assembly got off to a stormy start as members of the opposition boycotted the governor’s inaugural speech. The governor, Banwarilal Purohit was delivering his inaugural speech when the leader of opposition MK Stalin stood up and insisted on raising a few issues. The governor urged Stalin to take his seat and announced that time will be allotted for raising issues later. Meanwhile, the members of the opposition joined their leader in support and after repeated objections, they walked out of the assembly in protest. The assembly also saw IUML (Indian Union Muslim League) representative Muhammad Abubakker and AIADMK MLA Tamimun Ansari sporting black shirts with anti-CAA, NRC and NPR captions as a form of protest. While members of the opposition were walking out, they waved the Tricolour as they approached the governor before they exited.
In his inaugural address, the governor urged the centre to release all funds due to the state. Under the recommendations of the 14th Finance Commission, the overall fund transfer from the centre to the state was expected to increase but there has been an overall decrease in the flow of funds. “Tamil Nadu has faced a more severe adverse impact due to the horizontal distribution formula of the 14th Finance Commission. Tamil Nadu is eagerly awaiting the recommendations of the 15th Finance Commission as we are hopeful of a fair and equitable distribution of resources, the governor said. The speech also mentioned a Rs 563-crore plan to develop Mamallapuram, which has been prepared and sent to the central government. He also conveyed the Tamil Nadu government’s intention to request the Union Government to provide dual citizenship to Sri Lankan Tamil refugees in Tamil Nadu.
The first assembly session of the year will go on for a week and discussions on various pressing issues including the CAA bill, the local body elections and the NEET issue are expected to take centre stage. DMK members had earlier submitted a representation to the assembly secretary K Srinivasan to seek resolutions against the amendment of the CAA bill taking inspiration from a similar move by the members of the Kerala Legislative assembly.
“The state is suffering from a debt of 4 crores while unemployment is on the rise. There are no new job opportunities while no new industries are coming up under the new government. The governor is not taking any action on the cabinet’s decision to free the 7 prisoners associated with Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination. Moreover, the AIADMK party supported the CAA bill in the parliament disrupting the secularism and religious harmony of the state. The bill violates the rights of the minority and does not safeguard the interests of the Sri Lankan Tamils in the state. The government used excessive police force to quell protests against the CAA bill and obstruct the public’s right to express their opinion. The government used its power to manipulate the local body election results in their favour. At a government event in Pudokottai, the AIADMK party members publicly criticized an official for 'not tampering' with the elections and 'allowing DMK' to win the seat. Moreover, after almost two years of inaction, the government has suddenly woken up to the NEET issue and filed a petition asking the state to be exempted from the medical entrance exam which indirectly caused 7 students including Anitha to take their own life. This is just a play staged by the AIADMK party to garner support for their government.” said Stalin in a video released by the DMK party citing his reason's for boycotting the inaugural address by the governor. He also mentioned the DMK party’s victory in the recently concluded local body polls.
The assembly is expected to play host to stormy sessions ranging from the CAA bill to the alleged governmental interference in the local body polls. As the first day of the session got off to a turbulent start more drama is likely to ensue in the following days.
