wordy Duel that led to eviction

CHENNAI: Desiya Murpoku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK) MLAs, including Leader of the Opposition, Vijayakant, and Deputy Leader of the Opposition, S Ramachandran, were evicted en masse on Wednesday as they created a noisy scene in the Assembly after indulging in a wordy duel with the treasury benches over the hike in prices of milk and bus fare.It all began when DMDK member V C Chandrakumar started levelling charges against the ruling party over the hikes, saying that the AIADMK had once staged many agitations on such issues but had forgotten them after occupying the seat of power.In response, Transport Minister V Sendhil Balaji quantified the loss faced by the State transport corporations and how the AIADMK government was trying to save it  from becoming bankrupt. Dairy Development Minister Madhavaram Murthy too defended the milk price hike and reminded the DMDK that Jayalalithaa had campaigned for the AIADMK’s alliance partners during the Assembly elections and the electoral verdict proved Jayalalithaa’s popularity among the people.Finance Minister O Panneerselvam said the DMDK MLAs entered the Assembly only because of Jayalalithaa. “The elections to the local bodies have proved her mettle. Without any alliance, Jayalalithaa secured an all-time high win for the AIADMK in local body elections. As such, people voted only for Jayalalithaa and not the DMDK. Friends in the DMDK should realise this,” he said.Chandrakumar argued that the outcome of the local body polls would have been different had the AIADMK government hiked milk price and bus fares ahead of the elections. To this, Revenue Minister K A Sengottaiyan said Jayalalithaa’s popularity could be estimated in the Sankarankoil by-election.Continuing, the DMDK member said, of the 158 lakh litres of milk produced in Tamil Nadu, Aavin’s share was just 20 lakh litre. He wondered whether the hike in milk price was meant to help the private players.In response, Leader of the House, O Panneerselvam, said the participation of private players had increased during the previous DMK regime and that Jayalalithaa had embarked upon a Second Revolution in Tamil Nadu only with a view to incresing milk production.Chandrakumar then took on the proposed power tariff hike. Intervening, Jayalalithaa said the DMDK member was speaking without knowing basic details. Power tariff hike is decided by the Tamil Nadu Electricity Regulatory Commission and not the State government.On remark that the outcome of local body elections would have been different had the hikes been announced ahead of them, Jayalalithaa said they were implemented with a heavy heart, which she had made clear when the announcements were made.Reacting to this, DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi said, “AIADMK has its own unique way of handling opposition parties. That is being practised now also.”