Phone tapping issue: AIADMK stages walkout

Chennai, Apr 16 (UNI) The main Opposition AIADMK today staged a walkout in the Tamil Nadu Assembly in protest against the Speaker's refusal to grant permission to them to raise the alleged telephone tapping issue.

During Zero hour, AIADMK Whip K A Sengottaiyan sought to raise the issue and displayed a CD.

But, the Speaker refused permission stating that Chief Minister M Karunanidhi had given a detailed reply to the House yesterday and ordered a judicial probe into the issue.

''If you want to say anything, you can make your submissions before the probe committee,'' the Speaker said and refused permission to the AIADMK to raise the issue.

Protesting against this, Mr Sengottaiyan led his party members out of the House.

The issue had rocked the State Assembly yesterday when the Opposition tried to raise the issue of the alleged tapping of the telephone of Chief Secretary L K Tripathy, whose conversation with DVAC Director S K Upadhyay regarding a case pertaining to AIADMK supremo J Jayalalithaa was published in a section of the Press.

Mr Karunanidhi gave a detailed reply and ordered a judicial probe into the phone tapping episode and said it would be headed by a retired judge of Madras High Court.

Later talking to reporters outside the Assembly, Mr Sengottaiyan described the probe as an ''eye wash'' and demanded the resignation of Mr Karunanidhi.

UNI GV GD SZ KN1530