People ready to question the behavior of legislators, says JCD spokesperson Prabhakar
Tamil Nadu Assembly Speaker JCD Prabhakar on Monday strongly argued for restraint and self-regulation among members of the House as its proceedings were telecast live.
“People are ready to question the conduct of members and wonder what is wrong with exposing those who denigrate the dignity of the House. There will be no problem if members keep in mind the dignity of the House, their own dignity and the dignity of the electorate who elected them,” he said, recalling a conversation he had with a group of youths in Dindigul.
Mr. Prabhakar said the youths had no political background but developed an interest in politics and nurtured the idea of entering public life. One person wanted to know if members could behave in a way that would help them refrain from comments that would have to be removed.
“They asked me if I could tell them about the abstention. People are closely watching the proceedings and what is being said in the House,” he said, adding that he would take a decision on the matter after consulting the members.
Earlier, DMK deputy leader KN Nehru had alerted the speaker about the use of deleted notes on social media and reminded him of the two notices he had submitted on the issue.
The Chairperson said that next week, elections would be held for various committees, including the Committee on Privileges, and matters would be brought before the committee.
Mr. Prabhakar said that he would not allow members to raise questions that were not brought to his attention in the morning before the session began. He said he allowed it when there was no question and notice hour.
“The government is announcing new schemes. When any issue is mentioned, people may think that while the MP has actually raised the issue, the minister has not been able to respond. Such wrong information should not form in people’s minds and I cannot embarrass the government,” he said.
He asked ministers and their departments to ensure that answers to questions raised by members are made available quickly.
Published – 31 Aug 2026 17:31 IST