DMK MLAs were evicted from the Tamil Nadu Assembly on the direction of Speaker J.C.D. Prabhakar on Tuesday (September 8, 2026) after they staged a sit-in protest and raised slogans demanding the expunction of Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay’s remarks on the Sarkaria Commission, MISA, former Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, late Murasoli Maran, and the dossier prepared by the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) against the erstwhile DMK government.

Mr. Prabhakar made it clear that he would not expunge the remarks, saying the issues, particularly the Sarkaria Commission, had been debated in the House several times and that the Chief Minister had quoted from an ED report that was already in the public domain. “He has not said anything new,” he said.

As the DMK MLAs insisted that the Chief Minister’s remarks be removed from the proceedings, moved towards the Speaker’s chair, and staged a sit-in, the Speaker said DMK whip E.V. Velu could express his views on the issue. Mr. Velu had raised the matter immediately after the proceedings began and demanded the expunction of the Chief Minister’s remarks.

The DMK MLAs, however, remained firm on their demand. After trying to persuade them to return to their seats and Mr. Velu to speak, the Speaker ordered the Assembly’s watch and ward staff to evict them from the House. While most of the MLAs left the House, some were carried out. Valparai MLA Kutti alias Sudhakar resisted the eviction and created a ruckus.

Mr. Prabhakar said the Chief Minister had abided by the rules of the Assembly and spoken with adequate evidence.

“The DMK MLAs had come to the House with a motive. Even though the party is led by a senior leader and they disrupted the House, what option do I have? Even then, I granted permission to Mr. Velu to speak. I am pained by what happened today,” he said. The Speaker said the dignity of the House should be protected and that people across the world were watching its proceedings.

What CM did was against rules of House: DMK whip

Mr. Velu said that, under the rules of the Assembly, a Minister or the Chief Minister should confine his remarks to issues relating to the departments for which they were expected to reply. “What the Chief Minister did on Monday [September 7] was against the rules of the House. We sat patiently for the first 26 minutes,” he said.

Mr. Velu also said it was unacceptable to refer to or level allegations against a person who was not present in the House. He said it was unfair to drag the name of late Murasoli Maran, “who was renowned across the world.”

“Our leader (M.K. Stalin) was arrested a few days after his wedding and lodged in prison for a year. MISA [Maintenance of Internal Security Act, which was repealed in 1978] was against democracy,” he said.

Leader of the House K.A. Sengottaiyan said there was nothing wrong in referring to the Sarkaria Commission, as it had been discussed in the House several times in the past.

PWD Minister Aadhav Arjuna claimed CPI(M) State secretary P. Shanmugam had taken exception to the Chief Minister’s remarks because of a misunderstanding.