Tamil Nadu Assembly: The changing address of power

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M.K. Stalin greets the protesting Queen Mary's College students in Chennai on April 8, 2003. The students were protesting against the Jayalalithaa government decision to build a Secretariat complex on the college site. | Photo Credit: R. Ragu

Covering the Secretariat beat and the Assembly proceedings was traditionally reserved for senior journalists in every newspaper. But at Dinamani, its editor, RmT Sambandam, did not believe in rigid rules. He sent a bunch of rookies, including me, to Fort St. George, known as kottai, which housed the Secretariat, to cover the Assembly proceedings.

He would send us off with one instruction: “Go and introduce yourself to the man sitting in the first seat in the journalists’ lobby.” He was referring to the The Hindu journalist, invariably the senior-most among the organisation’s journalists and, in a sense, among those covering the Assembly. The next seat was allotted to The Indian Express — now The New Indian Express — followed by Daily Thanthi, and then Dinamani.

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