Tamil Nadu Deputy Speaker Satyabama's 'first woman' claim refuted by former MLA Leema Rose

Tamil Nadu's newly appointed Deputy Speaker Satyabama has been incorrectly hailed as the first woman to preside over the state assembly, a claim former CPM MLA Leema Rose has publicly refuted. Rose stated that several women, including herself and Congress's Ponnumma, previously served as presiding officers. During an August 2nd debate on grant requests for animal husbandry, dairy, fisheries, and welfare, Satyabama, from the list of alternate speakers, chaired the session in the absence of Speaker J.C.D. Prabhakar and Deputy Speaker Ravishankar. This led to widespread claims that she was the first woman to do so. Rose clarified that she herself presided over the assembly in 2009 during a social welfare grant discussion, and that CPM's Leema Rose, CPI's Padma, and Congress's Yasodhamma also served in similar capacities. While welcoming the praise for Satyabama, Rose emphasized that distorting historical facts is inappropriate.