‘All parties must be treated equally in assembly’

Chennai: Chief minister C Joseph Vijay on Tuesday said the state assembly must function as a forum where even parties with a single MLA receive the same respect and opportunity as the ruling party.

Delivering his maiden speech in the assembly, Vijay said democracy could flourish only when all the voices in assembly were given equal importance, irrespective of the numerical strength of parties. "Even parties with a single member in the house should be given the same respect as the ruling party members. Democracy must function by accepting what is good and rejecting what is not," Vijay said.





Vijay, who greeted newly elected assembly speaker J C D Prabhakar and deputy speaker M Ravishankar, spoke about the significance of the tradition in which the speaker is escorted to the chair by the Leader of the House and the Leader of the Opposition. Recalling the origins of the practice in the British Parliament, Vijay said the speaker's role was once considered dangerous, as he had to convey Parliament's rejection of the king's wishes directly to the monarch.

According to Vijay, monarchs displeased by Parliament rejecting their proposals often punished speakers severely, at times even ordering executions.

As a result, many were reluctant to accept the post, and newly elected speakers would be reluctant to take the chair, prompting parliamentary leaders to escort them to their seat.

"Though democracy later evolved in England, the ceremonial tradition continued and was eventually adopted in parliamentary systems modelled on Westminster, including India's legislatures," Vijay said.

The actor-turned-politician said the treasury benches would fully cooperate with the speaker in maintaining the dignity, decorum and democratic traditions of the house. He also expressed confidence that both the speaker and deputy speaker, who came from modest backgrounds, would uphold parliamentary values and protect the assembly's reputation.