Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay on Tuesday invoked the history of the British parliamentary system and stressed the importance of democratic traditions while addressing the Assembly after TVK MLA J.C.D. Prabhakar was elected unopposed as the Speaker of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly.
Speaking in the House, Vijay recalled how Speakers in England during the monarchy era played a crucial role in communicating Parliament’s decisions to the King, often at great personal risk.
“The Speaker had the responsibility of informing the King whenever Parliament rejected his proposals. In those days, kings even had the power to order executions, and Speakers sometimes faced severe punishment for conveying Parliament’s stand,” Vijay said.
He also referred to the old parliamentary custom where newly elected Speakers would symbolically hesitate to occupy the chair and would be escorted to the seat by leaders of the House and opposition.
“That tradition continues even today as a symbol of democratic values,” the Chief Minister remarked.
Vijay said the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly must function as the “heart of democracy” and quoted former US President Abraham Lincoln’s famous definition of democracy as a government “of the people, by the people and for the people”.
The Chief Minister assured full cooperation from all Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) legislators to the Speaker and stressed that even parties with a single member should be given due importance in the House.
“Every member in the Assembly is equal. Legislative traditions and democratic values must be protected,” Vijay said, adding that the government’s functioning should ensure that more people benefit from its welfare measures and governance initiatives.
Earlier in the day, TVK MLA J.C.D. Prabhakar was elected unopposed as the Speaker of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly, while party legislator M. Ravi Shankar was elected Deputy Speaker without a contest.
Prabhakar, the MLA from Thousand Lights constituency, had filed his nomination for the Speaker’s post on Monday on behalf of the ruling TVK. Ravi Shankar, representing the Thuraiyur constituency, had submitted his nomination papers for the Deputy Speaker’s post.
As no opposition party fielded candidates against the TVK nominees, both leaders were declared elected unopposed when the Assembly met on Tuesday.
Following Assembly tradition, Leader of the House Sengottaiyan and Leader of Opposition Udhayanidhi Stalin escorted Prabhakar to the Speaker’s chair after his election. Members from both the treasury and opposition benches congratulated the newly elected Speaker.
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