T P R Selvam elected as Dy Speaker of Pondy Assembly

Punducherry: Ruling AINRC legislator T P R Selvam was today elected unopposed as Deputy Speaker of the House at its brief monsoon session. As soon as the session commenced, Speaker V Sabapathy announced that Selvam was elected to the post unopposed as he was the only nomination received.

The Speaker also inducted A Tamilselvane (AINRC), nephew of Chief Minister and AINRC founer N Rangasamy, who was elected from Indira Nagar constituency in the Oct 13 bypoll. Both Selvam and Tamilselvane are first timers in the Assembly.

Minutes before the Chief Minister and the speaker greeted the members, seven Congress legislators, led by leader of the opposition V Vaithlingam, staged a walk out in protest against the government`s `failure` to maintain law and order, supply good quality rice to card holders and also to provide relief to rain hit sections of farmers and public.

The Chief Minister told the House that government was keen on providing quality rice to card holders and that rice was being procured as per instructions of the central government. Soon after, the House was drowned in noisy scenes as Congress legislators protested the absence of Education Minister P M L Kalyanasundaram in the House.

Kalayanasundaram is facing charges for allegedly using a proxy to write his class 10 public examination. Opposition AIADMK boycotted the session in protest against `inaction` of Rangasamy led ministry on various fronts. Of the two DMK legislators Nanda T Saravanan attended the session for a while and later staged a walk out along with the Congress legislators, in protest against the Speaker "not granting permission to discuss people`s issues."

The other DMK legislator A M H Nazeem could not turn up for personal reasons, he said. After Rangasamy and others spoke in appreciation of the new Deputy Speaker and the newly elected legislator the Speaker adjourned the House sine die.