Rajagopal P Swamy (Special Correspondent)
In the political landscape of Puducherry, the line between enforcing the law and flouting it has often blurred under the glare of public protests.
The ongoing saga of mandatory helmet regulations and elected representatives’ open defiance of them presents a vivid study of how lawmakers frequently transition into lawbreakers within the very gates of the Legislative Assembly.
The Protests of 2019: Smashing the Helmets:
The friction reached a dramatic peak in February 2019, when the opposition AIADMK staged an aggressive demonstration inside the Legislative Assembly premises against the mandatory helmet enforcement drive.
Initiated under strict directives from then Lieutenant Governor Kiran Bedi IPS (Retd.), the rule mandated headgear without first conducting public awareness drives.
In response, AIADMK legislature party leader A. Anbalagan, alongside fellow party MLAs A.Baskar and Vaiyapuri Manikandan, carried helmets onto the Assembly grounds and dramatically smashed them onto the floor.
Condemning Bedi’s style of functioning as arbitrary, the lawmakers framed their vandalism as a public-centric protest.
The act drew immediate backlash from Kiran Bedi, who publicly criticized the legislators as “lawbreakers” committing contempt of court.
The Sequel: Riding Unhelmeted for a Driver:
Years later, the cycle of using helmet violations as a political tool repeated itself. Ruling party (AINRC) MLA Vaiyapuri Manikandan chose to protest the government’s delay in appointing drivers for official cars allotted to legislators.
Leaving his official car behind, Vaiyapuri Manikandan rode to the Legislative Assembly on a scooter that lacked a registration plate and traveled without wearing a helmet.
Accusing the bureaucracy of double standards noting that IAS officers receive up to three official cars and drivers while elected representatives receive none Vaiyapuri Manikandan invoked a classic metaphor, claiming “Even if God grants a boon, the priest refuses it.”
His protest ended with Puducherry East Traffic Inspector Venkatajalapathi issuing a ₹1,500 fine receipt directly to the MLA for multiple traffic violations.
Irony at the Helm: The Pro Tem Speaker’s Chair:
The narrative comes full circle with the political rise of A. Anbalagan.
Having previously led the 2019 helmet-smashing demonstration on the Assembly steps, Anbalagan was subsequently appointed and sworn in as the Pro Tem Speaker of the Puducherry Legislative Assembly.
Yet, despite Anbalagan now occupying the solemn chair tasked with maintaining legislative decorum and administering oaths of lawfulness to elected members, the underlying situation on the ground remains unchanged.
Lawmakers continue to breach basic traffic and road-safety statutes to register political grievances on the Assembly premises, demonstrating that while roles shift from agitator to Assembly leader, the political culture of symbolic lawbreaking in Puducherry continues unchecked.
