Hooch deaths: Ruckus in TN Assembly again; govt rules out CBI probe

For the second day in a row, the Kallakurichi hooch tragedy affected the workings of the Tamil Nadu Assembly on Saturday (June 22), with the main Opposition party AIADMK staging a walkout and the ruling DMK hitting out at it for “doing politics over the painful issue”.

The death toll has now gone up to 55.

The government has dismissed the plea for a CBI inquiry, saying it is transparent. “The government is transparent; we have not hidden anything. A CBI inquiry is not needed,” said Law Minister S Regupathy.

AIADMK’s demand

The AIADMK legislators, led by Leader of Opposition Edappadi K Palaniswami, sought the adjournment of the question hour as soon as the House convened and demanded that they be permitted to raise the Kallakurichi issue.

Speaker M Appavu said question hour cannot be adjourned and told them that they will be given the time they wanted during zero hour to raise the matter. However, the AIADMK members persisted on their demand and later staged a walkout.

Palaniswami’s claim

Speaking to reporters outside the House, Palaniswami said his party was denied permission to raise the Kallakurichi issue for the second consecutive day.

“We have information that of the 183 persons treated, 55 are dead; every day, the death toll is rising,” he claimed and said several lives could have been saved had the government acted swiftly.

Referring to Health Minister Ma Subramanian’s reported statement that a reason for the deaths was delay by the affected people in seeking treatment, he alleged: “What he says is a blatant lie; it shows the government’s incompetence.”

Palaniswami justifies need for CBI probe

The government is responsible for the delay, as the former collector himself had initially claimed that the deaths were not due to illicit arrack, claimed Palaniswami. Hence, people believed that there was no issue with illicit liquor. Also, several people who turned up at a locality to mourn the death of victims consumed spurious liquor, he pointed out.

The former Chief Minister reiterated his claim that a life-saving drug, an antidote to methanol was “not available”. He alleged that truth will not emerge from the inquiries of the one-man commission set up by the state government. To ensure justice for the poor people, the government should order a CBI probe and that is why the AIADMK has approached the Madras High Court.

AIADMK “doing politics”

Law Minister Regupathi, describing the Kallakurichi deaths as grievous, told reporters that the AIADMK is trying to create a problem as it lost all the 40 Lok Sabha constituencies (39 in Tamil Nadu and one in Puducherry) in the recent Parliamentary election.

Palaniswami tried to stall the House proceedings for the second successive day and made unfounded allegations, he said.

The AIADMK deliberately created a ruckus during question hour since they have no scope to do politics otherwise and have been defeated in the people’s court. The people have boycotted them and they are looking for opportunities to do politics, he alleged.

In the Thoothukudi custodial death case (2020), the DMK, as the main Opposition party, had sought a CBI probe as Palaniswami, then the Chief Minister, “concealed” facts, he claimed.

Assembly rules

Earlier, Appavu said an opportunity would be given to the Opposition to raise issues during zero hour, and its members should conduct themselves in a civilised manner. On August 18, 2016, the then Speaker (P Dhanapal) had issued a ruling that permission will be given during zero hour to members following completion of question hour, and the then Opposition party (DMK) had extended cooperation, he said.

Senior Minister (PWD) EV Velu, referring to Palaniswami seeking adjournment of Question Hour and urging permission of the chair to raise the issue, said the Question Hour is common to all party members, be it ruling or opposition, and the Speaker is giving equal opportunity to all. Motion for adjournment and call attention motions are usually taken up during the Zero Hour.

The adjournment motion (on a matter of public importance) is governed by a specific rule, and the main Opposition party did not submit any request in this regard in the prescribed form to the Speaker, he added. By harping on “adjournment, they are taking the time of all the members”, and they should be briefed on adjournment and call attention motions once again, he asserted.