CHENNAI: State BJP chief Nainar Nagenthran on Saturday attacked Tamil Nadu Assembly speaker JCD Prabhakar, accusing him of “compromising the neutrality of his constitutional office” by bringing his religious identity into Assembly proceedings and seeking reservations for a section of his community from the Speaker’s chair.“The Speaker’s chair is above caste and religion. By using it to raise demands for a particular religious community, Prabhakar has compromised the neutrality and dignity of the office,” Nagenthran said in a social media post, tagging the Speaker’s X handle @JCDPrabhakar and chief minister @cmotamilnadu.The BJP leader alleged that the Speaker’s conduct marked a departure from the tradition of Assembly Speakers maintaining political, caste and religious neutrality.“The Speaker cannot use the constitutional office to dictate terms to the chief minister on matters concerning a particular religious community,” he said.The BJP also targeted minister Maria Wilson, alleging that he had openly invoked his Christian faith during Assembly proceedings, including while presenting the state budget with a rosary and quoting Bible verses.Nagenthran said personal faith was a private matter but alleged that bringing religious and caste identities into Assembly proceedings compromised the sanctity of the legislature.He accused the TVK govt of allowing what it described as a “sectarian” approach to enter Assembly affairs and urged the Speaker and ministers to uphold the dignity and neutrality of the House.
