TN Assembly: AIADMK members evicted for the day; tried to raise hooch tragedy, says Palaniswami
Chennai (PTI): The AIADMK members in the Tamil Nadu Assembly were evicted enmasse on Friday after the main opposition tried to raise some issue during the Question Hour, but the ruling was withdrawn by the Speaker soon, following an appeal made by Chief Minister M K Stalin.
Leader of Opposition K Palaniswami had earlier said the party wanted to raise the Kallakurichi hooch tragedy that has left "50 people dead", but was denied permission. He described the eviction as "murder of democracy."
Speaker M Appavu said the AIADMK members wanted to raise an issue during the Question Hour, which was against the House rules. Members were free to raise matters during the Zero Hour, only after the completion of Question Hour, he added.
As the AIADMK members were unreletning on their demand, the Speaker ordered for their eviction and ruled the opposition party legislators cannot attend the proceedings for the day.
Addressing the media outside the House, Palaniswami said he wanted to flag the Kallakurichi hooch tragedy, which he said has left "50 persons dead."
Later, CM Stalin appealed to the Speaker that the members of the main opposition be allowed to participate in the proceedings, which Appavu duly obliged and asked the AIADMK MLAs to return.
The opposition party MLAs, including Palaniswami, earlier came to the Assembly wearing black shirts.
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Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah killed in Beirut strike, Israel's military says
Tel Aviv (AP): The Israeli military said Saturday that it killed Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of the Hezbollah group, in a strike in Beirut on Friday.
The military said that it carried out a precise airstrike while Hezbollah leadership met at their headquarters in Dahiyeh, south of Beirut.
Ali Karki, the Commander of Hezbollah's Southern Front, and additional Hezbollah commanders, were also killed in the attack, the Israeli military said. The Lebanese Health Ministry said that 6 people were killed and 91 injured in the strikes on Friday, which leveled six apartment buildings.
Nasrallah has lead Hezbollah for more than three decades. There was no immediate comment from Hezbollah.
Israel maintained a heavy barrage of airstrikes against Hezbollah on Saturday, as Hezbollah launched dozens of rockets toward Israel.
The Israeli military said it was mobilizing additional reserve soldiers as tensions escalate with Lebanon. The military said Saturday morning it was activating three battalions of reserve soldiers, after earlier sending two brigades to northern Israel earlier in the week to train for a possible ground invasion.
On Saturday morning, the Israeli military carried out several strikes in southern Beirut and eastern Lebanon's Bekaa Valley. Hezbollah launched dozens of projectiles across northern and central Israel and the Israel-occupied West Bank.
In Beirut's southern suburbs, smoke rose and the streets were empty after the area was pummeled overnight by heavy Israeli airstrikes. Shelters set up in the city center for displaced people were overflowing. Many families slept in public squares and beaches or in their cars. On the roads leading to the mountains above the capital, hundreds of people could be seen making an exodus on foot, holding infants and whatever belongings they could carry.
At least six people were killed and 91 were wounded in the strikes against the Hezbollah on Friday, Lebanon's health ministry said. It was the biggest blast to hit the Lebanese capital in the past year and appeared likely to push the escalating conflict closer to full-fledged war. At least 720 people have been killed in Lebanon during the week, according to the Health Ministry.
The death toll is likely to rise significantly as teams comb through the rubble of six buildings. Israel launched a series of strikes on other areas of the southern suburbs following the initial blast.
