Opposition gives a miss to official Independence Day function

CHENNAI: Opposition party MLAs boycotted the official Independence Day function on the Marina on Tuesday. Though the government had sent invitations to all 98 opposition party MLAs, not even a single MLA or party leader participated in the function in which chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami hoisted the national flag.
During the last Republic Day function, when former chief minister O Panneerselvam hoisted the flag, DMK working president M K Stalin participated along with his party MLAs.A senior government official said invitations were sent to all MLAs.
"We sent invitations to all MLAs. Parties without representation in the assembly were not invited," a senior official told TOI. DMK sources told TOI that none of the party MLAs were present in Chennai and therefore could not participate in the function.
"Thalapathi is not in Chennai and all other MLAs are there in their respective constituencies. We were not asked to participate in the Chennai function and therefore most of us stayed back in the constituency and participated in the local Independence Day functions," said a DMK MLA not willing to be named.
Similarly, Congress and IUML MLAs also boycotted the government function in Chennai. "I chose to remain in my constituency Vilavancode as there were more than 10 functions in which I had to hoist the flag. I don't know whether I received the invitation but I was busy in my constituency," Congress whip in the assembly S Vijayadharani said.
Meanwhile, leaders of various political parties unfurled the flag at their offices in Chennai. At DMK headquarters, Rajya Sabha MP R S Bharathi hoisted the flag. The national flag was not hoisted at the DMK office for many years. The practice of hoisting the national flag at Anna Arivalayam on Independence Day started only in 2011.
At the CPM headquarters, party's first central committee member N Sankaraiah unfurled the flag. "Sankaraiah completed 95 years in July and is one of the two first central committee members who are alive. We always ask senior party leaders to hoist the flag in our office on Republic Day as well as Independence Day," CPM state secretary G Ramakrishnan told TOI.