Tamil Nadu: CM Vijay breaks Assembly convention, sits with ministers
What's the story
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay on Thursday broke a long-standing Assembly convention by leaving his designated chair and sitting with ministers. The CM's seat is usually reserved near the Speaker's chair, but on this occasion, he sat between KA Sengottaiyan and Aadhav Arjuna in the front row. This move was perhaps unprecedented as chief ministers usually stick to their designated chairs.
Assembly debate
LoP Udhayanidhi Stalin criticizes absence of department secretaries
Earlier in the day, Leader of the Opposition Udhayanidhi Stalin had slammed the absence of department secretaries during important discussions.
He recalled how former Chief Minister MK Stalin and senior bureaucrats were present during debates on issues like the Karur stampede.
"The same level of administrative presence was missing during the current Assembly session," he said.
Administrative response
Speaker assures senior officials' presence
In response to Udhayanidhi's concerns, Aadhav Arjuna said department secretaries were taking notes from an adjoining "war room."
Speaker JCD Prabhakar agreed with Udhayanidhi's suggestion and assured senior officials would be asked to stay in the Assembly during proceedings.
This exchange came against the backdrop of ongoing discussions on House functioning and coordination between the political leadership and senior government officials.