Leader of the Opposition and AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami led his partymen to stage a walkout from the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly on Tuesday during a discussion in the House over the release of life convicts, including Muslims from prisons.
After Chief Minister M.K. Stalin questioned the AIADMK of its “sudden concern” for the Muslim prisoners, Mr. Palaniswami rose to recall the efforts taken by the erstwhile AIADMK regime towards the release of seven convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case.
Mr. Stalin pointed out that despite the AIADMK government’s steps, it was during the DMK regime that the convicts actually walked out of the prison. When Speaker M. Appavu called legislator M.H. Jawahirullah to speak, Mr. Palaniswami said his was the principal opposition and sought to speak.
Mr. Palaniswami was also not convinced by the Chair’s explanation that he would be allowed to speak after Mr. Jawahirullah’s turn. After his repeated attempts to speak was not accepted by the Chair, Mr. Palaniswami led his partymen and walked out.
Later, Mr. Stalin asked if Mr. Palaniswami would come forward to meet the Governor and insist him to clear the files relating to the release of Muslim prisoners, pending before the Raj Bhavan.
