Udhayanidhi Stalin. File
| Photo Credit: S. Siva Saravanan
Leader of the Opposition Udhayanidhi Stalin on Saturday (June 20, 2026) urged Tamil Nadu Assembly Speaker J.C.D. Prabhakar to take steps to ensure the live telecast of the proceedings of the State Assembly.
“If the proceedings are not telecast live, it will defeat the very purpose of convening the Assembly session and show a lack of respect for the people who cast their votes. Do not do anything that would insult the Assembly and its members,” he said in a letter to the Speaker.
Mr. Udhayanidhi said he and leaders of other political parties are scheduled to participate in the discussion on the motion of thanks to the Governor’s Address on Monday (June 22).
Mr. Udhayanidhi said that although Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay had promised that Assembly proceedings would be telecast live, the discussion on the Governor’s Address was not carried live.
Recalling Information Minister Rajmohan’s claim that the Chief Minister had fulfilled his promise by resuming the live telecast of Assembly proceedings, which he claimed had allegedly been blacked out over the previous two to three years, Mr. Udhayanidhi said the telecast was stopped on the very day the Minister made the announcement.
He pointed out that while the debate on the resolution opposing the construction of a dam at Mekedatu was telecast live, the telecast was discontinued when the discussion on the Governor’s Address began.
“This is contrary to the promise made by the ruling party. It amounts to suppressing the voice of the people’s representatives and does not augur well for the dignity and decorum of the House,” he said.
Mr. Udhayanidhi further alleged that an even greater injustice had been committed by releasing edited versions of the debates that favoured the ruling party.
“It is an act of suppressing the freedom of expression of MLAs. It is not good for democracy,” he said.
He questioned whether suppressing the voices of MLAs could be described as the “change” promised by those who came to power on that slogan.
“Suppressing the voices of MLAs is an insult to the people. Preventing the public from knowing the views of their representatives amounts to pushing democracy into darkness,” he said.
Mr. Udhayanidhi also alleged that expecting the media to telecast only the clips supplied by the government reflected a fascist attitude.
Published – June 20, 2026 01:59 pm IST
