Chennai: DMK has sought permission from the assembly speaker to move privilege motions against chief minister C Joseph Vijay and law minister C T R Nirmal Kumar, alleging they made “false and factually incorrect” remarks on the floor of the assembly about former chief ministers M Karunanidhi and M K Stalin and on the Sarkaria Commission.Former minister M R K Panneerselvam, DMK whip E V Velu and two other DMK legislators submitted a letter to speaker J C D Prabhakar on Tuesday seeking a motion against the law minister. Velu told reporters that the party had already sought a privilege motion against the chief minister when the assembly was in session.“None shall speak against an individual who is not present in the House. It is against the convention of the House. Our four MLAs have submitted written privilege complaints to the Speaker, seeking action against the minister,” Velu told TOI. “Even if they want to speak about a member present in the House, they should submit a copy of their charges to the speaker and the concerned person,” Velu said, arguing that the minister has breached assembly rules.”Panneerselvam said the law minister, instead of focusing on his job of ensuring uninterrupted power supply across the state, has been speaking in a derogatory manner against DMK leaders.On the Sarkaria Commission remarks , Velu said that ministers were raking up decades-old issues to divert attention from pressing public concerns. Velu alleged that Nirmalkumar had made disparaging remarks about former bureaucrats Vaithilingam, A L Srinivasan and H V Rao, who had served as secretaries to Karunanidhi, and had demeaned the sacrifices of MISA prisoners.The privilege committee, headed by deputy speaker, will examine the petition, hear both sides and submit its report to speaker who will take the final call, Velu said.
