CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu assembly speaker JCD Prabhakar on Tuesday cautioned ministers that he could not tolerate their out-of-line remarks anymore and advised them to keep their responses to the subject or issue raised during the debate and discussion in the House.The speaker issued the diktat following minister for law and electricity R Nirmalkumar’s remark on former chief minister M Karunanidhi that led to an uproar from the opposition benches.The speaker intervened immediately and expunged the remarks. “I don’t know why the minister is speaking in such a manner and whom he is trying to impress. I cannot permit this anymore,” he said in a stern voice while intervening during Nirmalkumar’s reply to the special calling attention motion over the gunning down of three Tamils in a Karnataka forest area.The speaker said ministers could give responses and references related to the subjects under discussion. They could also recall the previous govt’s measures related to the issue, but they should not drift away from the context.It may be recalled that the speaker expunged several remarks made by ministers Nirmalkumar, Aadhav Arjuna and AG Arunraj in the last couple of days for going out of line while replying to the opposition. He directed the members of the House to abide by the direction of their respective party whips.
