During an Assembly session on Monday, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay issued an apology after a minister referred to former Chief Minister M Karunanidhi solely by his name, neglecting the customary honorifics. This remark led to immediate protests from the opposition DMK, which condemned the comment as a violation of parliamentary decorum.
Vijay Issues Apology on Minister’s Remarks
Vijay publicly apologized on behalf of Forest Minister R V Ranjith Kumar after the minister referred to the late Karunanidhi without using his honorific titles, such as “Kalaignar” or “former Chief Minister.” The comments sparked discussions regarding the appropriate recognition of political figures in public discourse.
Drawing a contrast between those elections and the present administration, the minister stated that the current government had come to power without resorting to cash-for-votes. This violated a long-established practice in the Tamil Nadu Assembly of addressing respected leaders with formal protocol titles. The omission triggered strong protests from DMK legislators, led by former minister K K S S R Ramachandran. As the atmosphere grew heated, Vijay interrupted the minister during his speech and conceded that addressing Karunanidhi in that fashion was improper. His apology promptly quelled the disruption and restored order to the debate.
Yet, while enumerating what he termed past electoral tactics, he referred to the DMK patriarch merely as “Karunanidhi”.
