The Tamil Nadu Secretariat, which houses the state Assembly.
Tamil Nadu Assembly Speaker P Dhanapal on Thursday suspended all lawmakers of the state's main opposition party from the rest of the ongoing Assembly session, after one of them made an allegedly disparaging remark about Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, in relation to the result of the disproprtionate assets case against her.
The ruckus in the Assembly between members of the ruling AIADMK, of which Ms Jayalalithaa remains the general secretary, and lawmakers of the Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK) began after senior DMDK leader Alagapuram R Mohan Raj refered to Ms Jayalalithaa's conviction in a disproportionate assets case.
The DMDK is the main opposition party in the Tamil Nadu Assembly, and Mr Mohan Raj is the Deputy Leader of the Opposition.
As the ruckus ensued, Mr Dhanapal, also a member of the AIADMK, expunged the remark and ordered marshals to evict the DMDK lawmakers. He said, "The DMDK members were suspended for disrupting the proceedings."
Ms Jayalalithaa had been disqualified with immediate effect on her conviction in the disproportionate assets case by a trial court in Bengaluru on September 27. However, her party still refers to her as 'People's Chief Minister'.
Mr Mohan Raj's remarks caught the ruling party members off gurd, leading to the ruckus. His comment had come in rebuttal to a remark by an AIADMK member about DMDK leader Vijayakant. The AIADMK lawmakers had used the Tamil word for citizen, which could also be used as an allusion to an alcoholic.
The DMDK members protested outside the Assembly building after they were evicted. "It is a dictatorship. What is wrong in calling her that way? The Speaker and the Assembly Secretary themselves have given in writing that the Srirangam MLA is convicted," said Mr Mohan Raj.
Ever since she got bail, Ms Jayalalithaa has largely remained confined within her residence in Chennai's posh Poes Garden area, in line with the conditions imposed by the Supreme Court, forbidding political activity. Her loyalist, O Panneerselvam, who took over as Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, doesn't use the Chief Minister's chamber in the Secretariat, does not have his post on the name plate outside his office and places a photograph of Ms Jayalalithaa on the table during all his meetings.