The Tamil Nadu Assembly on Monday (August 10, 2026) witnessed a series of light-hearted exchanges between former Minister M.R.K. Panneerselvam and the Ministers, with even Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay enjoying the moments.

When Mr. Panneerselvam regretted Mr. Vijay’s remarks that DMK members should read newspapers, he pointed out that DMK Ministers and IAS officers had remained tense for five years because the then Chief Minister, M.K. Stalin, would question them on issues relating to their departments after reading newspapers and watching television news channels.

He said that in the past, he would relax only after 8 a.m. because his leader, Kalaignar [M. Karunanidhi], would call him up early in the morning. “You [the Ministers] seem very relaxed,” he said.

Minister for Water Resources N. Anand responded that Mr. Vijay would call him up and other Ministers even about repairing a vaikal (canal) and ask whether the work had been completed. Mr. Panneerselvam said Mr. Anand had become busy after becoming a Minister.

When Mr. Panneerselvam took pride in saying that the five years of DMK rule had not witnessed any protest by farmers, Law Minister Nirmal Kumar said it was the DMK government that had invoked the Goondas Act against farmers. “They were suppressed, and cases are pending against them. At a meeting of farmers, we received requests to withdraw the cases,” he said.

Mr. Panneerselvam responded that the cases had nothing to do with farmers’ issues but were related to land acquisition for SIPCOT. “There used to be frequent spells of rain. I used to be in the Cauvery delta with Food Minister R. Sakkarapani. It has not rained since you came to power,” he said.

Leader of the House K.A. Sengottaiyan intervened when Mr. Panneerselvam said his colleague K.N. Nehru was also a farmer and owned thousands of acres. “There is a land ceiling Act,” he said.

One could see the Chief Minister beaming when Mr. Panneerselvam referred to Minister for Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department Ramesh as the “Swami Minister”. Mr. Ramesh said Mr. Panneerselvam had become an expert in “creating storylines for films”.

The Chief Minister, who visits the House before the proceedings begin, usually walks from one end to the other, greeting his Cabinet colleagues and others. When he was about to return to his seat, Tourism Minister Rajesh Kumar said, “Let your sight fall on us.”

Published - August 10, 2026 10:29 pm IST