Chennai: Tamil Nadu Assembly on Tuesday witnessed uproarious scenes with arch-rivals AIADMK and DMK being involved in a bitter exchange of words following the mention of name of former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa by the opposition which disrupted proceedings for nearly 20 minutes.
The issue led to frayed tempers, with some ministers even crossing swords with DMK members who got agitated after a senior minister made some remarks against one of them.
Trouble erupted after DMK Deputy Leader Durai Murugan mentioned the name of Jayalalithaa during a debate. The Treasury benches took exception to the matter and soon an altercation broke out between the arch-rivals.
Some of the ministers seated in the front row were seen in an animated discussion with the DMK MLAs even as one of them criticised Murugan which infuriated the opposition.
Soon, both sides started raising slogans against each other even as Speaker P Dhanapal was seen making repeated bids to ensure decorum.
Finally, the agitated members paid heed to the Speaker's pleas and resumed their seats.
"Both of us (Treasury and Opposition Benches) have the duty and responsibility to maintain dignity of the House," Chief Minister O Panneerselvam, also Leader of the House, said.
He also suggested to the Speaker that action be taken against those who were found involved in inappropriate behaviour.
Dhanapal, who insisted that tempers ran high on both sides, said he "condemned" inappropriate behaviour, if any, and sought the cooperation of all members for the smooth conduct of the House.
The noisy scenes disrupted proceedings for nearly 20 minutes when Opposition Leader MK Stalin (DMK) was speaking on the motion to thank the Governor for his address to the Assembly last Monday.
