Opposition parties stage walkout over various issues in Pondy

Puducherry, Apr 17 (UNI) The Puducherry Legislative Assembly today witnessed walkout by the opposition CPI, AIADMK and Puducherry Munnetra Congress (PMC) members for various reasons.

Immediately after the zero hour, CPI members R Viswanathan and Na Ra Kalainathan were on their feet urging the Speaker to take up the adjournment motion given by them to discuss the issue of price rise.

Speaker R Radhakrishnan, who was initially reluctant, asked the members to table the adjournment motion so that he could have a vote on it and could be taken up in case of majority.

The members said there was no need for a voting on the subject and it was supported by K Lakshminarayanan (PMC). At this juncture, Leader of the Opposition A M H Nazeem intervened and suggested that there was no need for the adjournment motion and the demand could be converted into a call attention motion.

The Speaker then announced that he would take it as a call attention motion tomorrow.

Protesting against this, the CPI members staged a walkout.

The members who resumed their seat after five minutes, staged a second walkout after Industries Minister V Vaithilingam gave his reply on a calling attention motion regarding the apathy on the part of the government in modernising the Bharathi, Swadeshi and AFT Mills.

When there was no categorical statement from the Minister that the Central DA would be provided to the workers, the CPI members announced that they totally reject the Minister's reply and were staging the walkout to condemn the anti-labour attitude of the government.

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