India News | TN Speaker Refers Tamil Daily's Report to Privileges Committee

Chennai, Mar 23 (PTI) Tamil Nadu Assembly Speaker M Appavu on Thursday referred to the Committee of Privileges a report of a Tamil newspaper, to examine and determine if it constituted a breach of privilege of the House and its members.

In the Assembly, legislator T Velmurugan referred to Tamil daily Dinamalar's reportage days ago on the Budget presentation in the House, saying it amounted to blemishing the august House's dignity and honour. Also, the daily had used unparliamentary words and insulted the Tamil language, he alleged, urging action against the newspaper, to end such practices.

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Velmurugan belongs to the Tamizhaga Vazhvurimai Katchi and he was elected on the DMK's Rising Sun symbol in the 2021 Assembly election.

The legislator said the daily had reported that Ministers and MLAs had dozed off during the Budget presentation, whereas they were reading the Budget document looking downwards at the screens of tablet computers placed in front of them, as Finance Minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan presented the Budget.

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Reading the document by looking downwards may have given an appearance of sleeping. However, it was not so, he said. The newspaper had reported that the Finance Minister had scratched his head and stammered as well, he said.

With the intention of bringing disrepute to the government, this matter is being debated on social media, the MLA said, adding that publishing such reports amounted to breach of privilege of the House. "I strongly condemn it."

Saba Rajendran (DMK) said the report was defamatory and a breach of privilege of the members and wanted it to be sent to the Committee of Privileges for action. Ku Selvaperunthagai (Congress) also said the report breached the privilege of the House and sought action.

Speaker Appavu said prima facie it appeared to constitute a breach of privilege of the House and tasked the Committee of Privileges with studying the matter and submitting a report.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)