CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu assembly has banned members from carrying mobile phones inside the House during sessions. Assembly speaker D Jayakumar didn’t provide any reason for his decision.

The move comes in the wake of a DMK member using his mobile phone to record assembly proceedings and being banned for a brief period from the House. The decision also comes close on the heels of a scam in the Karnataka assembly when some ministers were allegedly caught watching porn clips on cellphones.

“All members, including ministers, besides mediapersons and government officers shouldn’t take their mobile phones into the assembly hall,” said the speaker, reading out a one-page statement in the House on Monday. Tamil Nadu perhaps is the only state to ban mobile phones in the assembly.

The speaker said lockers would be provided to all the members where they could store their mobile phones before entering the House. Stating that pay phones have been fixed around the assembly hall, including in the canteen and members’ lounges, the speaker said, “All MLAs will be given smart cards with talk value valid for one year. Initially it would have a talk value of Rs 70. The members can later recharge the cards at BSNL counters on the premises.”

According to secretariat sources, the decision to ban use of mobile phones in the House was taken after the matter was discussed in the assembly rule committee meeting in February. DMK leader T R Baalu ’s son T R B Rajaa, a first-time MLA, was banned from the House for 10 days for using his mobile phone to record assembly proceedings. TOI had reported on February 12 that the speaker was likely to announce a decision soon banning mobile phones from the House.

Until Monday, rules permitted MLAs and other officials to carry mobile phones inside the assembly hall though they were strictly prohibited from using them. The decision to ban their use in the House has not been greeted well by legislators. “Getting up-to-date information is crucial these days. To ban mobile phones without even a discussion in the House is unfortunate”, said Rajaa. “If the new rule comes into effect, how can members make calls in case of emergencies?” asked DMDK legislator C H Sekhar. He pointed out that mobile jammers are installed in the assembly hall.

DMDK presidium chairman and deputy opposition leader Panruti S Ramachandran differed. Welcoming the ban, he said mobile phones could be misused in the House and pointed to the porn scandal in the Karnataka assembly. “It is better to get rid of such things inside the House.”

CPM legislator K Bala Bharathi said the House should discuss and debate before such rules were imposed. “A mobile jammer has been installed in the House, which is as good as banning,” said Congress MLA S Vijayradharani. PMK MLA A Ganeshkumar said he received emails from residents of his constituency which he accesses from his mobile phone. “I attend to people’s request immediately,” he claimed.

