TN Budget session ends: Vijay makes a mark, but Speaker steals the show

The first Budget session of Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay’s TVK government in the Tamil Nadu Assembly concluded on Tuesday (September 8) after 28 days, marked by sharp exchanges, first-time speeches, and the Speaker stealing the show.

The Budget session, which began on August 5, turned into one of the longest sittings in recent memory, with August 27 marked as the longest single day. The House saw a new government present its maiden Budget, intense face-offs between Vijay and Leader of the Opposition Udhayanidhi Stalin, and a public that followed every hour on TV and phones.

Rare praise for Speaker

Speaker JCD Prabhakaran drew rare praise from both sides. Udhayanidhi congratulated him for staying fair and for telling even ruling party ministers when their conduct crossed the line. Prabhakaran allowed several MLAs, including Thanjai Saravanan, Sathyabama and Ibrahim, to sit in the Chair as temporary Speakers. He often asked members to sit down, cooled tempers, and struck off remarks from the official record. Many observers said he looked more even-handed than some of his own party’s ministers. At the same time, a few moments showed he still belonged to the ruling camp.

Also read: Sarkaria to ‘Karur gang’: Vijay takes on DMK over corruption, Oppn calls it ‘cinema’

New TVK MLAs and ministers were clearly still learning the rules. Some shouted, some spoke as if they were shooting short videos, and the Speaker repeatedly removed their punch lines from the record. PMK MLA Sowmiya Anbumani stood out by avoiding personal attacks; her speech won respect across the House. First-time member MR Pallavi from Thiru.Vi.Ka Nagar spoke with visible nervousness. The Deputy Speaker gently told her to keep going. She highlighted that eight Dalit ministers now sit in the Cabinet, including both education ministers, and spoke about how education can change lives. That moment, analysts said, would stay with younger viewers.

Usually the Tamil Nadu Assembly revolves around the Chief Minister. Under the TVK government, however, there is criticism that the House appeared to revolve around the Speaker instead. Even though leaders of all parties praised him for staying neutral, many feel he ended up drawing all the attention to himself.

CM's speech a big hit on YouTube

The live broadcast itself became the session’s biggest talking point. Tamil Nadu has a long history of using the legislature to push for local rights. Vijay’s government took it further by showing every minute. One of the Chief Minister’s replies drew 1.2 million views on a single YouTube channel. Young people began asking what “Rule 110” meant and followed the debates daily.

Political analyst Peer Mohamed called it a new chapter in open democracy: people can now talk back in comments instead of waiting for the next day’s newspaper.

Also read: TN govt to drop cases registered against farmers, teachers for peaceful protests

The same cameras also captured the worst moments. Unparliamentary words, threats and theatrical gestures went out live. Even after they were struck off from the official record, they lived on as short videos. DMK leaders said the House had turned into a “circus tent”. After Vijay’s long reply on September 7, DMK MLAs protested his references to old Emergency-era arrests under the Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA), the Sarkaria Commission and Enforcement Directorate (ED) papers. They demanded those portions be removed. Speaker Prabhakaran refused. Marshals then evicted the protesting members. Former Chief Minister MK Stalin later asked whether the Assembly was being run with any dignity at all. “The way it is being conducted itself raises that question,” he said.

Vijay faces flak

Vijay’s body language also came under fire. He spoke of a “father who is missing”, used a hand sign that some linked to the Congress alliance seal, and placed a hand on his chin while talking about Stalin’s old MISA arrest. Critics called the gestures cheap. Vijay later issued a statement: the movements were unplanned, carried no hidden meaning, and should not be read as an attempt to hurt anyone.

AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami said people’s real problems – price rise, fishermen in trouble, mounting debt got too little time. “This looks more like a film Assembly than a real one,” he remarked. He called the government a “reels government”. CPI(M) state secretary P Shanmugam asked a sharper question: Did the Chief Minister answer even one question raised during the police grant debate? Shanmugam said the House had become a fighting ground instead of a place to solve problems, and that talking about 50-year-old files was a diversion.

Political observer Dayalan Shanmugam was equally blunt. The session, he said, produced no clear direction. It felt like a show. Vijay spoke of three files and dusted off old Sarkaria papers, but never seriously took on the AIADMK over corruption. If the government claims to follow Kamaraj’s path, Shanmugam argued, it should take on both Dravidian parties. Instead, the Assembly became another campaign stage. The session, he added, may have given a tired DMK a second wind. In the upcoming by-elections for two constituencies, people will use the actions of TVK and DMK in the Assembly as a yardstick, he said.

'TVK wants to win social media battles'

Dayalan said, “The first episode of the Bigg Boss show went well and everyone watched it. Now the number of people watching Bigg Boss has fallen. In the same way, people will enjoy the first two Assembly sessions. After that they will start watching what is actually happening and begin to make up their own minds. TVK’s attention is focused only on the daily fight to win social media battles. So far, TVK has not given a proper explanation on the power-cut problem or the electricity tariff issues."

Peer Mohamed saw a different picture. Vijay, he noted, moved from cinema to politics. He admitted he prepares his speeches at home and does not speak off the cuff. His one-hour reply on September 7 was composed and clear. Udhayanidhi, almost the same age, also grew in the House; he pointed out how ministers turned expunged remarks into videos. The two leaders, Mohamed said, share a language and a rivalry that will define the next five years.