Vijay invokes Lincoln in Tamil Nadu Assembly, urges respect for small parties
Vijay, addressing the Assembly, invoked Abraham Lincoln and the history of the British parliamentary system to stress the need for democratic values.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Vijay on Tuesday quoted former US President Abraham Lincoln in the Assembly as he stressed the need to protect democratic traditions, legislative dignity and equal representation during the election of the new Speaker.
Quoting Lincoln’s famous definition of democracy as a government “of the people, by the people and for the people”, Vijay said legislative institutions must remain rooted in democratic principles and public welfare.
“Former US President Abraham Lincoln said, ‘Government of the people, by the people, for the people is democracy’. The flourishing democracy we witness today carries immense expectations from the people. It is the responsibility of this Assembly to bring those expectations to its attention and implement plans and laws to fulfil them. Our functioning should ensure that the maximum number of people benefit during this tenure of governance,” Chief Minister Vijay said.
Further expressing his vision of how the House should function, Vijay continued, “Everyone here is equal. Even if parties with only a single member have representation in this House, the views expressed by them must be given the same respect as the opinions expressed by the larger-numbered members of Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam.”
“No one should be judged based on where they sit. Good ideas must be accepted and undesirable ones rejected, and this Assembly should function as the heart and brain of democracy,” he added.
After TVK MLA JCD Prabhakar was elected unopposed as Speaker, Vijay also invoked the history of the British parliamentary system as he referred to the risks Speakers once faced while conveying Parliament’s decisions to monarchs.
“The Speaker had the responsibility of informing the King whenever Parliament rejected his proposals. In those days, kings even had the power to order executions, and speakers sometimes faced severe punishment for conveying Parliament’s stand,” Vijay said in the Assembly.
While Prabhakar was elected Speaker of the Assembly without a contest, party legislator M Ravi Shankar was elected unopposed as Deputy Speaker.
Vijay, who formed Tamil Nadu’s first coalition government and became the Chief Minister, is set to prove his majority in the House on Wednesday.