Congress MLA S Vijayadharani claimed she was “almost in tears” after the Tamil Nadu Assembly Speaker evicted her from the House on Tuesday after an argument, The News Minute reported. Speaker P Dhanapal asked for the Vilavancode legislator to be evicted reportedly after she persisted with her demand to be allowed to raise a concern.

When Vijayadharani wanted to speak, Dhanapal said she had given a notice only at 9.40 am and the matter could not be taken up immediately. As she kept insisting, the Speaker warned her of action. After she dared him to take action, Dhanapal summoned the House’s watch and ward staff and ordered her eviction, PTI reported.

However, Vijayadharani told The News Minute that she had submitted a motion on Monday as well as Tuesday to discuss the matter of compensation for deaths because of short circuiting in Kanyakumari. After the Question Hour on Tuesday, she asked Electricity Minister P Thangamani whether he was ready with an answer. When the minister said he was, she approached the speaker to be allowed to raise the matter, she claimed.

Refusing to accept the request, Dhanapal allegedly told the MLA she could have a “personal deal” with the minister. “The Speaker openly said that the minister and I can have a ‘personal deal’ outside and that the House cannot be party to that,” Vijayadharani told The News Minute. “How can a Speaker of a state Assembly even talk like this? I was almost in tears.”

All Congress legislators walked out of the House after Dhanapal rebuked Congress legislature leader KR Ramasamy who objected to her eviction. Dhanapal told him not to divert the matter. Congress has eight members in the 235-member Assembly.

Dhanapal said Vijayadharani had spoken in an intimidating way. If he had not acted against her, “there is no meaning in my occupying this chair”, he reportedly said. “You saw her behaviour, it is condemnable,” he said. “I had no other choice. So far, I have not ordered the eviction of any woman member of the House.”