Speaker refutes Jaya's criticism of "black day"

Chennai, May 31 : Tamil Nadu Assembly Speaker R Avdaiappan today said there was no precedence of a member being informed in advance whether he or she would be allowed to speak in the House.

Replying to Congress member C Gnanasekharan's reference to leader of the opposition J Jayalalithaa's statement in the press yesterday that she was wantonly prevented from speaking in the House and that it was a ''black day'' in the history of the Tamil Nadu Assembly and democracy, the Speaker said, as leader of the opposition Ms Jayalalithaa had only failed to exercise her democratic duty by not attending the House.

Blaming the Speaker for not allowing to speak was far from truth, Mr Avudaiappan said.

Rebutting Ms Jayalalithaa's charge that the letter recognising her as leader of the opposition reached her only on the midnight of May 29, the Speaker clarified it was delivered at her residence on the evening of May 29.

It was delivered by an office assistant of the Assembly Secretariat, the Speaker said.
Earlier, raising the issue, Mr Gnanasekharan wanted to know whether the suspended AIADMK legislators were allowed to enter the precincts of Fort St. George housing the state Assembly. Condemning the AIADMK MLAs for engaging in verbal duel with the police who denied them entry on the ground that they were suspended, yesterday, Mr Gnanasekharan cited the example of former Speaker, P T R Palanivelrajan, who had not allowed a suspended member Thamaraikani from even entering the MLAs Guest House, Mr Gnanasekharan, quoting from the Assembly rule book said the suspended members were not allowed in any part of the Secretariat precincts.

He described Ms Jayalalithaa's criticism of the Speaker as breach of sanctity of the House and dishonouring it.

Mr Gnanasekharan said all the members and the media were expecting Ms Jayalalithaa to attend the proceedings yesterday.

''She should have come and sought an opportunity to speak,'' he said.

He charged Ms Jayalalithaa with confusing the people of Tamil Nadu by making such statements.

Referring to Ms Jayalalithaa's claim that for the first time, the leader of the opposition was not allowed to wind up the debate on the motion of thanks to the Governor's address, he said that the budget session passed without any opposition member in the House, during the previous Jayalalithaa regime.

UNI