There was pandemonium in the Tamil Nadu Assembly today over the state government’s decision to take over the cable television network, especially multiple service operators, including the Maran family-owned Sumangali Cable Vision.Meanwhile, the government moved a supplementary bill, with amendments to bring more operators under its purview, following the DMK’s charges of ‘‘selective targeting’’. The bill introduced in the House on Saturday had named SCV and the Rahejas-owned Hathway. While SCV (which controls nearly 85 per cent of the cable network in the state) and Hathway are the two main MSOs in TN, the amendment, apparently to overcome legal hurdles, included six small firms in Chennai, Salem, Coimbatore, Madurai and Tirunelveli. The date from which the new legislation would take effect would be different for different areas and the government had the power to acquire properties in public interest under the Constitution’s Concurrent List, the amendment said.Defending her government’s decision to take over the cable TV network in the state, Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa reiterated that there were many complaints against some MSOs. She said it was ‘‘strange’’ that within 30 minutes of the Bill being tabled in the House, DMK president M Karunanidhi, accompanied by Union Minister Dayanidhi Maran, rushed to the Raj Bhavan to urge the Governor not to give his assent to the Bill. ‘‘Did Mr Karunanidhi get so upset about any public cause in the recent past like when the tsunami or the floods hit the state,’’ she asked. The DMK chief reacted only because the new Bill would take away the ‘‘monopoly’’ enjoyed by the SCV, part of the Sun Network Group, owned by his family members, she said. His action, in ‘‘attempting to influence’’ the Governor’s decision, she said, was ‘‘unconstitutional’’.Chaos broke out as DMK members objected to words used by Jayalalithaa against Karunanidhi. The Speaker, however, did not allow them to speak on the grounds that the issue had been referred to the Privileges Committee. This evoked protests and the Speaker ordered eviction of the DMK members.
