Governor Banwarilal Purohit’s repeated appeals to the Opposition parties to take part in debates in the Assembly went in vain on Tuesday.
Leader of the Opposition M.K. Stalin tried to speak — but was disallowed from doing so — when Mr. Purohit was about to start his speech after ‘Tamil Thai Vaazhthu’ was recited. The members of all Opposition parties stood behind him.
DMK members objected to Mr. Purohit’s reference to the Union Budget proposal to allocate over ₹1 lakh crore for infrastructure development in Tamil Nadu. The Governor sought to know whether there was anything incorrect in the information, and requested Mr. Stalin to take part in a debate because this would be the last session of the 15th Assembly.
“This is the last session of this term. Respect it... take full advantage of it. You should prove it in the debate. Nobody stopped you. I know all of you senior leaders are some of the best orators. Why don’t you use your skills? It is my humble request. Please cooperate,” he said.
As the Opposition members insisted that Mr. Stalin be allowed to speak, the Governor said: “Why are you getting angry? Don’t get angry with us. There is one suggestion. If you want to register the protest, you can go out for five minutes and come back.” But they walked out.
