NEW DELHI, June 12: While their counterparts from other parties pitched and fielded charges in Parliament, AIADMK MPs spent most of this week in their rooms at Tamil Nadu Bhavan. The reason: they were boycotting the House almost everyday and they do not have an office in Parliament to rest after the daily ritual of walk-outs.The room allotted to them, said parliamentary party leader Sedappatti R Muthiah, has been occupied by the Rashtriya Janata Dal. The RJD is refusing to shift as the room which has been allotted to it is occupied by the Janata Dal. The JD, which has just six MPs this term, has been asked to shift to a smaller one but the party is refusing. The JD, said Muthiah, has claimed that it had two former prime ministers in its party. So according to protocol it should get a larger room.AIADMK MPs were forced to use Law and Surface Transport Minister Thambi Dorai's office on the ground floor or to go back to Tamil Nadu Bhavan. So the MPs proceeded to the Bhavan everyday after the walk-outs,which began on June 5, demanding the dismissal of the DMK government in Tamil Nadu.The ritual was repeated almost everyday, as per Amma's instructions. Said Muthiah, ``Broad directions came from our leader. She asked us to raise the issue in Parliament, and if we did not get a satisfactory response then we were asked to walk out.'' Left with a lot of time on their hands but few options, the MPs, who occupied most of the second floor of the Bhavan during their stay in the Capital, spent their time reading and preparing the next day's brief. Which, incidentally, remained the same: raising the issue of dismissal.It was a stormy, and possibly disappointing session for most of the 13 first-time MPs of the party elected to the Lok Sabha, as they hardly had a chance to participate in the parliamentary proceedings. Yet, they would not comment on either their visit to the Capital or their time in Parliament, except for grudgingly admitting that they haven't been sight-seeing because of the scorchingheat.Dutifully referring all queries to Muthiah, their party's leader in Delhi, AIADMK MPs C Gopal and K Manikandan explained that they ``are very disciplined''. Conceding that ``party discipline is important'', Muthiah said that his MPs were not available for comment. His excuse - the MPs were busy packing to catch the evening flight to Chennai.The MPs will be back on June 18, on time for Amma's visit to the Capital and probably might be allowed to speak to the press.
