CM Vijay cites British parliamentary history and Abraham Lincoln in Tamil Nadu Assembly

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay on Tuesday referred to the history of the British parliamentary system and highlighted the importance of democratic traditions while addressing the Assembly after the election of the new Speaker reported IANSVijay made the remarks after Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam TVK MLA J C D Prabhakar was elected unopposed as the Speaker of the Tamil Nadu Legislative AssemblyAddressing members in the House the Chief Minister spoke about the historical role of Speakers in the British Parliament during the monarchy era and the risks they faced while communicating Parliamentrsquos decisions to the King reported IANSVijay recalls historical role of Speakers in British ParliamentVijay said Speakers in England had the responsibility of informing the monarch whenever Parliament rejected proposals placed before itAccording to him during earlier periods of monarchy Speakers often faced severe consequences for conveying Parliamentrsquos stand to the King because rulers held extensive powers including the authority to order executionsThe Chief Minister also referred to the parliamentary tradition in which newly elected Speakers symbolically hesitate before occupying the chair and are escorted to their seat by leaders from both the ruling side and the opposition reported IANSHe said the practice continues even today as a representation of democratic values and institutional respect within parliamentary systemsCM quotes Abraham Lincoln while speaking on democracyDuring his address Vijay described the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly as the ldquoheart of democracyrdquo and stressed the importance of preserving legislative traditions reported IANSThe Chief Minister quoted former US President Abraham Lincolnrsquos famous definition of democracy as a government ldquoof the people by the people and for the peoplerdquoHe assured full cooperation from all TVK legislators to the Speaker and said even parties with limited representation in the Assembly should receive equal importance and opportunities in the HouseAccording to Vijay every legislator in the Assembly must be treated equally irrespective of party strength and democratic norms should remain protected during legislative proceedings reported IANSTVK leaders elected Speaker and Deputy Speaker unopposedEarlier in the day TVK MLA JCD Prabhakar who represents the Thousand Lights constituency was elected Speaker of the Assembly without oppositionSimilarly TVK legislator M Ravi Shankar representing the Thuraiyur constituency was elected Deputy Speaker unopposedBoth leaders had filed their nominations on Monday on behalf of the ruling TVKAs no opposition party fielded candidates for either post Prabhakar and Ravi Shankar were declared elected when the Assembly convened on TuesdayAssembly leaders escort new Speaker to chairFollowing Assembly convention Leader of the House Sengottaiyan and Leader of Opposition Udhayanidhi Stalin escorted Prabhakar to the Speakerrsquos chair after his electionMembers from both the ruling benches and opposition parties congratulated the newly elected Speaker during the proceedingsThe election of the Speaker and Deputy Speaker marks one of the first major legislative developments since the TVK government assumed office in Tamil Nadu following the recent Assembly electionsWith inputs from IANS