Tamil Nadu Assembly Speaker JCD Prabhakar on Tuesday clarified that the Speaker’s Office had no role in the arrest of DMK MLA Markandayan GV over his alleged remarks against Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay.
At a party meeting on July 18, Markandayan, the Vilathikulam MLA, claimed that he could not be arrested for making statements against the chief minister because he was a sitting legislator and the Speaker’s approval was required before the police could arrest him.
Responding to the allegation, Prabhakar told reporters that the Assembly rules only restrict service of court orders or notices within the Assembly premises without prior permission from the Speaker.
He said: “It is not permissible to deliver an order or notice from the court within the premises of the association without obtaining prior permission from the Speaker of the Council. This is what Rules 291 and 292 stipulate.”
“Now, under this rule, we must ask what the word ‘areas’ actually means. I consider it my duty to inform honorable members, all legislators, and the general public. As far as a member of the Legislative Assembly is concerned, the ‘areas surrounding the Assembly’ include the Assembly Hall, its outer corridors, connected offices, the Cabinet Room, the Library, the Canteen, the meeting rooms of the committees housed in the Secretariat, the meeting rooms of the committees, and the libraries.”
He clarified that no prior approval from the Speaker is required to arrest an MLA outside the House premises.
He said: “Everything I mentioned earlier is what is clearly specified in those rules (Articles 291 and 292). On this basis, there is no rule that stipulates that prior permission must be obtained from the Speaker of the House of Representatives to conduct an arrest for events occurring abroad.”
Prabhakar said that the Thoothukudi district superintendent of police informed him about the arrest and added that the information would be sent to other MLAs as well.
Noting that Markandian’s speech had sparked “deep grief” and anger among the public, the Speaker said, “No one with a sense of justice will say that this (the MLA’s speech) was true.”
He said in response to a question: “With regard to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, if a written complaint is submitted to me, I will review it properly in accordance with the rules of the House and will certainly take action.”
Earlier in the day, Thousand Lights MLA Prabhakar announced that the government’s first full budget session will begin on August 5 at 10 am at the Assembly Hall in Fort St George.
Markandayan was arrested on Monday on charges of making derogatory remarks against Vijay at a public meeting.
The arrest followed a complaint filed by P Kasiram, a functionary of the Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK) party, over a speech allegedly delivered by the opposition legislator at a public meeting in Thoothukudi on July 18. Police arrested Velathikulam MLA from his residence.
Markandayan is currently lodged in Palayamkottai Central Jail in Tirunelveli district.
Meanwhile, DMK MP Kanimozhi Karunanidhi met Markandian in jail and inquired about his health.
Speaking to reporters later, Kanimozhi said the Palayamkottai jail has historical significance for the DMK.
“This is the same place where our leader (Kalignar M Karunanidhi) was imprisoned. It is the same prison where he was imprisoned in 1965 for anti-India sedition,” she recalled.
She said DMK members consider imprisonment for political reasons a “matter of pride”.
“Markandayan has proudly accepted it while he is in jail. Not only this, no one in the DMK fears such threats, cases or arrests. No matter how many false cases are filed, we, the DMK leaders, are ready to face them,” she said.
