House traditions trampled, Oppn’s right to raise Rs 1,000 cr Tasmac 'scam' denied: Edappadi K Palaniswami

CHENNAI: Leader of the Opposition Edappadi K Palaniswami on Tuesday accused the Speaker M Appavu of blocking him from raising large-scale irregularities in Tasmac, resulting in a scam exceeding Rs 1,000 crore.

The AIADMK leader stated that the systematic effort to strip the opposition of its rights amounted to nothing short of a "murder of democracy" and was a blatant violation of the long-standing traditions of the House.

"As Leader of the Opposition, I have every right to raise matters concerning the public. It is a right vested in the principal opposition and a long-standing tradition of the House. Despite having sought permission from the Speaker (M Appavu) to raise pressing issues, he denied it. It has been done intentionally to prevent us from highlighting the critical issues," Palaniswami told media persons after staging a walkout from the House ahead of the demands for grants related to electricity, prohibition and excise.

It is the duty of the government to respond appropriately to every single issue raised, EPS said. "The (previous) AIADMK government had functioned in a democratic manner. We gave everyone the opportunity to speak. But the situation now is entirely different. The ruling party is clearly afraid of the Enforcement Directorate and is unable to respond to our questions," he added.

Recalling the FIR filed in connection with the Tasmac case, Palaniswami pointed out that the ED had carried out searches at several premises, including its headquarters. Despite widespread media reports highlighted large-scale irregularities, neither Chief Minister MK Stalin nor the minister concerned V Senthilbalaji has issued any clarification to date, Palaniswami said. "That is why I wanted to raise the issue at the appropriate time in the House. But I was denied permission to speak," he said, reiterating that it was nothing less than a democratic travesty.

Palaniswami further claimed that the scale of the scam far exceeded the estimates made by central agencies. He noted that overpricing liquor by Rs 10 per bottle, with around Rs 1.5 crore bottles sold daily, has led to illegal collections of over Rs 450 crore per month. "In a year, this adds up to Rs 5,400 crore funnelled to the government through overpricing alone," he alleged.