Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay broke with tradition in the Legislative Assembly by leaving his designated seat to sit among his ministers. This change occurred amidst discussions regarding the presence of officials.
During the assembly proceedings on Thursday afternoon, Vijay rose from his seat located to the right of Speaker JCD Prabhakar and sat in the front row. He took a place between Leader of the House and Minister KA Sengottaiyan and Minister Aadhav Arjun.
The Chief Minister usually sits in a separate chair placed near the Speaker’s seat. Ministers sit in separate seats in the front row alongside him, and their positions are typically determined based on seniority.
Vijay’s seat change is unusual
Opposition members sit in the row facing the treasury benches. In the 234-member assembly, the seats for the Leader of the Opposition and leaders of various legislative parties are determined based on the strength of their parties. Members of their parties sit behind them.
A source said that it is unusual for the Chief Minister to get up from the chair designated for his position and sit in a minister’s seat. Ministers and MLAs sometimes change their seats for a brief chat with colleagues, but this is perhaps the first time a Chief Minister has changed seats in this manner.
Vijay had attended government programs earlier in the day. After this, he reached the Legislative Assembly for the afternoon proceedings.
Opposition raised questions on the presence of officials
Earlier on Thursday, Leader of the Opposition Udhayanidhi Stalin raised the issue of departmental secretaries not being present in the Assembly during discussions on important issues.
Udhayanidhi referred to the discussion related to the Karur stampede. He said that during the previous DMK government, former Chief Minister MK Stalin, senior officials including the Chief Secretary, and departmental secretaries were present in the House during the discussion on this issue.
He said that such presence of the administration is not being seen in the current Assembly session.
Officials will be asked to remain in the House
Responding to the Leader of the Opposition’s question, Adhav Arjun stated that the departmental secretary was present in a nearby ‘war room’. They were taking notes on the speeches made by the MLAs and the issues raised.
Speaker JCD Prabhakar agreed with Udhayanidhi’s suggestion. He said that senior officials would be asked to remain present in the Assembly during the proceedings.
This conversation took place amidst a discussion regarding the functioning of the House and the coordination between political leadership and senior government officials.
Later in the day, Vijay changing his seat to sit among the ministers became a notable scene of Thursday’s proceedings. This was a departure from the traditional seating arrangement of leaders who have been Chief Ministers consecutively.
