Speech delivered by Hon'ble Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Thiru. C. Joseph Vijay in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly today (12.5.2026), congratulating Thiru. P.C.D. Prakash on assuming charge as Speaker of the Legislative Assembly and Thiru. M. Ravisankar on assuming charge as Deputy Speaker of the Legislative Assembly. Hon'ble Speaker, "Government of the people, by the people, for the people" — so said the former President of the United States, Thiru Abraham Lincoln. For the democracy that exists today to flourish, this House bears the responsibility of bringing to its attention the great expectations of the people and of enacting the plans and laws needed to fulfil those expectations. Our actions should be such that more people receive more benefits during this period of governance. Here, everyone is equal. Even though parties with a single member are represented here, the views they express must be given equal weight to those expressed by the members of the Tamilaga Vetrik Kazhagam, who hold a larger number of seats — good proposals should be accepted, and unsuitable ones rejected — and this House must function as both the heart and the brain of democracy. It is in that spirit that the Tamilaga Vetrik Kazhagam proposed, and you today occupy, the seat of one who possesses the calibre to steer this glorious and historically significant House. Hon'ble Speaker, You have been unanimously elected as Speaker. You were seated in this chair after the senior-most member of the House and the Leader of the Opposition took you by the hand and led you to it. It would be interesting to recount how this custom came about — there is a great history behind this practice. Our parliamentary practices are similar to those of the Parliament in England. Even in the era when monarchy prevailed, a Parliament functioned there. In those days, there was a king who held all powers, and a Parliament also functioned. The king would wish for a certain task to be carried out; the Parliament would, more often than not, reject his wish. The person who had to convey to the king the news that Parliament had rejected what he wished for was called the Speaker of Parliament — the one who had to voice Parliament's opinion to the king. That required courage. Parliament's permission was needed only for certain matters, whereas the king had the power to impose the death penalty on any subject of that kingdom. He would order that the Speaker who told him Parliament had rejected his wish be sentenced to death — order that his head be cut off. Because this happened repeatedly, no one wished to take up the post of Speaker. Hence, whenever a new Parliament was formed and someone was announced for the post of Speaker, he would immediately try to flee to save his head. The senior-most member and the Leader of the Opposition would stop him, hold his hands, pull him along and seat him in the chair. This is the tradition that has come down from that era. Even after the advent of democracy, this tradition continues. I wish to take this opportunity to assure you that all members of the Tamilaga Vetrik Kazhagam will certainly stand by you and assist you. You have been entrusted with the responsibility of safeguarding the dignity and honour of this House and of its members. I went yesterday to meet our member Thiru M.V. Karuppaiah, who served with great distinction as pro-tem Speaker. When I saw the photographs of former Speakers there and learnt about them, it truly filled me with pride, because — following in the line of exemplary figures such as Thiru J. Sivasanmugam Pillai, Dr. U. Krishna Rao and Thiru S. Chellapandian — I felt proud that we had proposed the most fitting person for this post. The same holds true for our Deputy Speaker as well. Both of you were born into very ordinary families and have worked with an earnest desire to serve the people. As Valluvar's words say: "Kulam naadik kutramum naadi avatrul Migainaadi mikka kolal" (One should examine both lineage and faults, and among these, weigh the greater merit and choose accordingly) — in keeping with this, I have confidence that both the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker will bring honour to this Assembly by ensuring that legislative proceedings are conducted in an orderly, dignified and peaceful manner, and that the democratic values and norms of this Assembly are preserved and protected. Beyond politics, good values that respect human beings must be established. Tamil culture must be cherished, and the traditions, dignity and esteem of this House must be safeguarded. With this good intention, I once again express my confidence that both of you, having assumed these positions, will uphold them, and with that I conclude my address. Thank you, greetings. •••••••••••• Issued By: Director, Directorate of Information and Public Relations, Chennai-9