Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly
Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly | |
|---|---|
Duraimurugan, DMK since 11 May 2021 | |
Deputy Leader of the Opposition | R. B. Udhayakumar since 19 July 2022 |
Chief Whip of Government | |
Chief Whip of Opposition | |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 234 |
  | |
Political groups | Government (159)
Official Opposition (75) |
| Elections | |
Chief Secretariat of Tamil Nadu, Chennai, Tamil Nadu | |
| Website | |
| This article is part of a series on the |
| Politics of Tamil Nadu |
|---|
 |
The Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly is the
Speaker
. The term of the Assembly is five years, unless dissolved earlier.
Since Tamil Nadu has a unicameral legislature, the terms Tamil Nadu Legislature and Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly are almost synonymous and are often confused. However, they are not one and the same. The Tamil Nadu Legislature is the legislative body, while the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly is a part of it. The Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly, along with the Governor of Tamil Nadu, constitutes the Tamil Nadu Legislature.
The present state of Tamil Nadu is a residuary part of the erstwhile
Lower House
of the Presidency.
After the
Republic of India
was established in 1950, the Madras Presidency became the Madras State, and the bicameral setup continued. The Madras State's assembly strength was 375, and the first assembly was constituted in 1952. The current state was formed in 1956 after the reorganisation of states, and the strength of the assembly was reduced to 206. Its strength was increased to the present 234 in 1965. Madras State was renamed Tamil Nadu in 1969, and subsequently, the assembly came to be called the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly. The Legislative Council was abolished in 1986, making the legislature a unicameral body and the assembly its sole chamber.
The present Sixteenth Legislative Assembly was constituted on 3 May 2021. It was constituted after the 2021 assembly election, which resulted in the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK)-led front winning and forming the government. The next election will take place in 2026.
History
Origin
The first legislature of any kind to be established in Madras was the Madras Legislative Council in 1861. First established as a non-representative advisory body, it saw the introduction of elected members in 1892. The Indian Councils Act 1909 (popularly called the "Minto-Morley Reforms") officially introduced indirect election of members to the Council. In 1919, direct elections were introduced with the introduction of diarchy under the Government of India Act 1919. Between 1920 and 1937, the Legislative Council was a unicameral legislature for the Madras Presidency. The Government of India Act 1935 abolished diarchy and created a bicameral legislature in Madras province. The Legislature consisted of the Governor and two legislative bodies: a Legislative Assembly and a Legislative Council. The Assembly was the lower house and consisted of 215 members, who were further classified into general members and reserved members representing special communities and interests:[1][2]
| Reservation | Number of members |
|---|---|
| Unreserved | 116 |
| Scheduled Castes | 30 |
| Muslims | 28 |
| Christians | 8 |
| Women | 8 |
| Landholders | 6 |
| Commerce and Industry | 6 |
| Labour and Trade Unions | 6 |
| Europeans | 3 |
| Anglo-Indians | 2 |
| University | 1 |
| Tribal | 1 |
| Total | 215 |
The presiding officer of the Assembly was called the Speaker of the Assembly.
Madras Presidency
The first
Bulusu Sambamurti and A. Rukmani Lakshmipathi were elected as the Speaker and Deputy Speaker respectively.[3]
The first assembly lasted its term until February 1943, but the Congress cabinet resigned in October 1939, protesting India's participation in
Indian Constitution came into effect on 26 January 1950. Madras Presidency became Madras State and the existing assembly and government were retained till new elections could be held in 1951.[7]
Republic of India
In the
Malabar, 11 from South Canara (part of present-day Karnataka) and the remaining 190 belonged to Tamil Nadu
.
On 1 October 1953, a separate Andhra State consisting of the Telugu-speaking areas of the composite Madras State was formed and the Kannada-speaking area of
Kerala State. This further reduced the strength to 190. The Tamil-speaking area of Kerala (present day Kanyakumari district) and Sengottai taluk were added to Madras State. According to the new Delimitation of Parliamentary and Assembly Constituencies Order 1956, made by the Delimitation Commission of India under the provisions of the State Reorganisation Act of 1956, the strength of the assembly was increased to 205.[8]
The 1957 elections were conducted for these 205 seats. In 1959, as result of
Vijayakant conducted themselves in this manner, unless an extremely important situation happened. Once M. K. Stalin became the leader of the opposition in 2016, the leader of the opposition always came and participated fully in the House. Following the 2021 elections, the leader of the opposition Edappadi K. Palaniswami
, also attended the house.
Location
Fort St. George
where the Tamil Nadu Legislature has functioned for 60 years
The Legislative Assembly is seated at the
Mount Road. During 1946–52, it moved back to the Fort St. George. In 1952, the strength of the assembly rose to 375, after the constitution of the first assembly, and it was briefly moved into temporary premises at the government estate complex. This move was made in March 1952, as the existing assembly building only had a seating capacity of 260. Then on 3 May 1952, it moved into the newly constructed assembly building in the same complex. The assembly functioned from the new building (later renamed as "Kalaivanar Arangam") during 1952–56. However, with the reorganisation of states and formation of Andhra, the strength came down to 190 and the assembly moved back to Fort St. George in 1956. From December 1956 till January 2010, the Fort remained the home to the assembly.[13][14][15]
In 2004, during the 12th assembly, the AIADMK Government under
new building in the Omandurar Government Estate. In 2007, the German architectural firm GMP International won the design competition to design and construct the new assembly complex. Construction began in 2008 and was completed in 2010. The new assembly building was opened and the assembly started functioning in it from March 2010.[16][17][18][19] After AIADMK's victory in the 2011 elections, the assembly shifted back to Fort St. George.[20][21][22]
List of historical locations where the Tamil Nadu Legislature has been housed:
| Duration | Location |
|---|---|
| 11 July 1921 – 13 July 1937 | Council Chamber, Fort St. George, Chennai
|
| 14 July 1937 – 21 December 1937 | Beveridge Hall, Senate House, Chennai |
| 27 January 1938 – 26 October 1939 | Multipurpose Hall, Rajaji Hall, Chennai |
| 24 May 1946 – 27 March 1952 | Council Chamber, Fort St. George, Chennai
|
| 3 May 1952 – 27 December 1956 | Multipurpose Hall, Kalaivanar Arangam, Chennai |
| 29 April 1957 – 30 March 1959 | Assembly Chamber, Fort St. George, Chennai
|
| 20 April 1959 – 30 April 1959 | Multipurpose Hall, Arranmore Palace, Udhagamandalam
|
| 31 August 1959 – 11 January 2010 | Assembly Chamber, Fort St. George, Chennai
|
| 19 March 2010 – 10 February 2011 | Assembly Chamber, Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly-Secretariat Complex, Chennai
|
| 23 May 2011 – 13 September 2020 | Assembly Chamber, Fort St. George, Chennai
|
| 14 September 2020 – 13 September 2021 | Multipurpose Hall, Kalaivanar Arangam, Chennai |
| 5 January 2022 – present | Assembly Chamber, Fort St. George, Chennai
|
List of the assemblies
- Note
In the 1952 election, no party achieved a majority in the assembly election, so
chief minister
.
Members of the Legislative Assembly
Party position
| Alliance | Party | No. of MLAs | Leader of the party | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Government INDIA Seats: 159 |
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam | 134 | M. K. Stalin | ||
| Indian National Congress | 17 | S. Rajesh Kumar | |||
| Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi | 4 | Sinthanai Selvan
| |||
| Communist Party of India (Marxist) | 2 | P. Mahalingam | |||
| Communist Party of India | 2 | T. Ramachandran | |||
| Opposition NDA Seats: 75 |
All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam | 62 | Edappadi K. Palaniswami | ||
| Pattali Makkal Katchi | 5 | G. K. Mani | |||
| Bharatiya Janata Party | 4 | Nainar Nagendran | |||
| Independent | 4 | O. Panneerselvam | |||
| Total | 234 | – | |||
Standing committees of the house (2023–2024)
The following standing committee of the house was constituted on 21 April 2023.
| No. | Name | Chairman | No. of members (Excluding chairman) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Business Advisory Committee | M. Appavu | 16 | |
| 2 | Committee on Rules | M. Appavu | 16 | |
| 3 | Committee of Privileges | K. Pitchandi | 16 | |
| 4 | Committee on Estimates | G. Anbalagan | 19 | |
| 5 | Committee on Public Accounts | K. Selvaperunthagai | 19 | |
| 6 | Committee on Public Undertakings | A. Soundarapandian | 17 | |
| 7 | Committee on Delegated Legislation | P. Sivakumar @ Thayagam Kavi | 11 | |
| 8 | Committee on Government Assurances | T. Velmurugan | 11 | |
| 9 | House Committee | M. Panneerselvam | 17 | |
| 10 | Committee on Petitions | Govi. Chezhiaan
|
10 | |
| 11 | Library Committee | S. Sudharsanam | 9 | |
| 11 | Committee on Papers Laid on the Table of the House | A. Tamilarasi | 10 | |
Portraits in the assembly chamber
| No. | Portrait of | Unveiled on | Unveiled by |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | C. Rajagopalachari | 24 June 1948 | Jawaharlal Nehru |
| 2 | Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi
|
23 August 1948 | C. Rajagopalachari |
| 3 | Thiruvalluvar | 22 March 1964 | Zakir Husain
|
| 4 | C. N. Annadurai | 6 October 1969 | Indira Gandhi |
| 5 | K. Kamaraj | 18 August 1977 | Neelam Sanjiva Reddy |
| 6 | E. V. Ramasami
|
9 August 1980 | Jothi Venkatachalam |
| 7 | B. R. Ambedkar | 9 August 1980 | Jothi Venkatachalam |
| 8 | U. Muthuramalingam Thevar
|
9 August 1980 | Jothi Venkatachalam |
| 9 | Muhammad Ismail Sahib
|
9 August 1980 | Jothi Venkatachalam |
| 10 | M. G. Ramachandran | 31 January 1992 | J. Jayalalithaa |
| 11 | J. Jayalalithaa | 12 February 2018 | P. Dhanapal |
| 12 | S. S. Ramaswami Padayachi
|
19 July 2019 | Edappadi K. Palaniswami |
| 13 | V. O. Chidambaram Pillai | 23 February 2021 | Edappadi K. Palaniswami |
| 14 | P. Subbarayan | 23 February 2021 | Edappadi K. Palaniswami |
| 15 | Omanthur P. Ramaswamy Reddiar | 23 February 2021 | Edappadi K. Palaniswami |
| 16 | M. Karunanidhi | 2 August 2021 | Ram Nath Kovind |
The bust of
Madras Legislative Council
, adorns the assembly lobby.
See also
- Elections in Tamil Nadu
- Government of Tamil Nadu
- List of chief ministers of Tamil Nadu
- List of speakers of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly
Notes
References
- S2CID 144054002
- ^ "The State Legislature - Origin and Evolution:Brief History Before independence". Assembly.tn.gov.in. Archived from the original on 13 April 2010. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
- ^ Kaliyaperumal, M (1992). The office of the speaker in Tamilnadu : A study (PDF). Madras University. p. 47. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 July 2011.
- ISBN 978-81-269-0085-5.
- ISBN 978-0-7146-1496-0.
- ^ a b "INDIA (FAILURE OF CONSTITUTIONAL MACHINERY) HC Deb 16 April 1946 vol 421 cc2586-92". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). 16 April 1946. Archived from the original on 9 February 2013. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
- ^ Kaliyaperumal, M (1992). The office of the speaker in Tamilnadu : A study (PDF). Madras University. p. 91. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 July 2011.
- ^ a b c "The State Legislature – Origin and Evolution". Assembly.tn.gov.in. Archived from the original on 13 April 2010. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
- ^ "1952 Election" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 September 2011. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
- ^ "The Representation of People Act, 1950" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 August 2015. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
- ^ "Constituent Assembly of India Debates Vol IV, Friday the 18th July 1947" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 3 July 2011. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
- ISBN 978-1-84331-136-2.
- ^ Karthikeyan, Ajitha (22 July 2008). "TN govt's new office complex faces flak". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 11 August 2011. Retrieved 11 February 2010.
- ^ S. Muthiah (28 July 2008). "From Assembly to theatre". The Hindu.
- ^ "A Review of the Madras Legislative Assembly (1952–1957) : Section I, Chapter 2" (PDF). Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly. Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 September 2011. Retrieved 11 February 2010.
- ^ a b S, Murari (15 January 2010). "Tamil Nadu Assembly bids goodbye to Fort St George, to move into new complex". Asian Tribune. Archived from the original on 16 January 2010. Retrieved 11 February 2010.
- ^ Ramakrishnan, T. (19 April 2008). "New Assembly complex to have high-rise building". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 22 April 2008. Retrieved 11 February 2010.
- ^ Ramakrishnan, T (13 March 2010). "Another milestone in Tamil Nadu's legislative history". The Hindu. Retrieved 18 March 2010.
- ^ Ramakrishnan, T (11 March 2010). "State-of-the-art Secretariat draws on Tamil Nadu's democratic traditions". The Hindu. Retrieved 18 March 2010.
- ^ "Jaya picks historic seat of power: Fort St George". The Times of India. 15 May 2011. Archived from the original on 6 November 2012. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
- ^ "Jayalalitha to bring back Fort St George as TN secretariat". Deccanherald.com. 15 May 2011. Archived from the original on 30 August 2011. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
- ^ "Jayalalithaa, 33 ministers to be sworn in on Monday : Fort St George". Rediff.com. 15 May 2011. Archived from the original on 2 November 2012. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
External links
- Tamil Nadu Lok Sabha Election 2019 Result Website
- Slideshow of historical images of the Tamil Nadu Legislature
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