People ready to question the behaviour of legislators, says Speaker JCD Prabhakar

Tamil Nadu Assembly Speaker J.C.D. Prabhakar on Monday made a strong case for self-restraint and self-regulation among members of the House as its proceedings were being broadcast live.“People are ready to question the behaviour of members and wonder what is wrong in exposing those who denigrate the dignity of the House. There will be no problem if members keep in mind the dignity of the House, their own dignity and the dignity of the voters who elected them,” he said, recalling a conversation he had with a group of youngsters in Dindigul.Mr. Prabhakar said the youngsters had no political background but had developed an interest in politics and nurtured the idea of entering public life. One person wanted to know whether members could conduct themselves in a manner that would help them refrain from making remarks that would have to be expunged.“They asked me whether I could tell them about self-restraint. People are closely watching the proceedings and what is being spoken in the House,” he said, adding he would take a decision on the issue after consulting members.Earlier, DMK deputy leader K.N. Nehru brought to the Speaker’s notice the use of expunged remarks on social media and reminded him of the two notices he had submitted in connection with the issue.The Speaker said elections to various committees, including the Privileges Committee, would be conducted next week and the issues would be referred to the committee.Mr. Prabhakar said he would not allow members to raise issues that had not been brought to his notice in the morning before the session began. He said he allowed it when there was no Question Hour and calling attention motion.“The government is announcing new schemes. When an issue is mentioned, people might think that while the member effectively raised the issue, the Minister was unable to give an answer. Such wrong information should not be allowed to form in the minds of the people, and I cannot cause embarrassment to the government,” he said.He requested Ministers and their departments to ensure answers to issues raised by members were made available quickly. Published - August 31, 2026 05:31 pm IST