TN Speaker assures protection for Jaya to attend House

Chennai, May 24 (UNI) Tamil Nadu Assembly Speaker R Avudaiyappan today assured adequate protection for former Chief Minister and AIADMK General Secretary J Jayalalithaa if she chose to attend the House.

Asked whether he would make an appeal to the AIADMK supremo to attend Assembly proceedings, he said voters had elected legislators only to represent them in the House.

''Necessary protection will be definitely given for her,'' he told reporters here.

Recalling the attack on her in the House in 1989, Ms Jayalalithaa had announced that she would keep away from the Assembly proceedings as there was no proper protection for her. However, she would attend the House if situation demanded, she had said. On the first session of the new Assembly beginning on a discordant note with the AIADMK boycotting the Governor's address, Mr Avudaiyappan said he expected to conduct the House smoothly.

The legislators were elected to put forth the people's demands in the House and to fulfil them with the help of the Government, he said.

Asked about the advancement of Assembly timing by half an hour, he said as per Assembly rules, the House should meet at 0930 hrs and end at 1330 hrs.

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