Chennai, Sept. 7 -- A heated exchange in the Tamil Nadu Assembly on Monday ended with the DMK staging a walkout after Leader of Opposition Udhayanidhi Stalin was not allowed to immediately respond to Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay's allegations against the previous DMK government.

The walkout came after Vijay turned a debate on the Home Department and law and order into a broader political attack on the DMK, citing Enforcement Directorate material, the Sarkaria Commission and alleged corruption during previous regimes.

Udhayanidhi sought permission to respond to the allegations, but amid disruptions in the House, the Speaker did not allow an immediate reply. The confrontation quickly became the defining political moment of the day.

The ...