Legislators of the ruling AIADMK and the Opposition DMK were involved in heated exchanges in the Assembly, with MLAs on both sides claiming to have been victims of arrests on false charges during each other’s regimes.
Participating in the debate on the demand for grants for the Home Department, DMK legislator T. Udhaya Suriyan (Sankarapuram) said his party colleague and Singanallur MLA N. Karthik was arrested on false charges following a protest.
Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami intervened to say that even his party members were arrested during erstwhile DMK regimes. “Even I was arrested six times when we were in Opposition,” he said.
As for the DMK legislator’s concerns over detentions at night, Mr. Palaniswami said they were primarily precautionary arrests.
Deputy Speaker Pollachi V. Jayaraman claimed that he was once a victim of arrests on false charges during the erstwhile DMK regime, and he had to hide “near the Indian borders” to avoid arrest in the case. DMK members were seen attempting to criticise Mr. Jayaraman for stating his intention to hide.
Mr. Jayaraman then mentioned the names of DMK MLAs P.K. Sekar Babu (Harbour) and Anitha R. Radhakrishnan (Tiruchendur) and claimed that they were also arrested in the same manner (back when they were with the AIADMK). He asked them to confirm the same.
Mr. Sekar Babu, however, said the erstwhile DMK government had released him soon after it realised that he was being held on a fake charge. Mr. Radhakrishnan claimed he was arrested during the AIADMK regime and blamed the ruling party for it.
Soon, it was Cooperation Minister Sellur K. Raju who found his name being mentioned by party colleague Mr. Jayaraman, who said the former was made to face a false charge.
The contentions and counter-contentions continued till DMK Deputy Floor Leader Duraimurugan intervened and urged the Speaker not to allow such claims to be made in the House, lest they go on endlessly. Certain remarks made by Mr. Jayaraman against the DMK were expunged by the Speaker following objections from the Opposition camp.