Opposition parties decry incidents in TN Assembly

Opposition parties in Tamil Nadu today expressed concern over the incidents in the state Assembly during the confidence vote sought by Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami.

BJP said while there was all round expectations of a healthy scenario in politics, "in Tamil Nadu it has ended with a scuffle." "Whatever may be (the end result), its the desire of all to see a government without any scam taint. Lets wait and see, whether this is a government for the people. Else they will boycott it," state BJP chief Tamilisai Sounderrajan said in a statement.

"People want a stable government, not a shadow government," she said.

CPI (M) state secretary G Ramakrishnan said that democracy cannot be upheld by violence.
"The incidents that had happened have brought shame to Tamil Nadu and democracy," he said, adding elected representatives "causing damage to public property (in the Assembly) is strongly condemnable".

PMK founder S Ramadoss said "Assembly democracy and ethos have been buried" due to the incidents.

In Coimbatore, Puthiya Tamizhakam chief K Krishnasamy sought the dissolution of the Assembly, claiming the Floor Test was held in "an undemocratic and unconstitutional" manner after evicting the Opposition members.

He said the Governor should reject the outcome and dissolve the Assembly and recommend fresh election, he said. Pandemonium had broke out in the Assembly during the confidence vote sought by Palaniswami, with the DMK members creating a ruckus and later alleging manhandling of its MLAs including Leader of the Opposition M K Stalin by marshals.