CHENNAI: AIADMK deputy coordinator R Vaithilingam on Monday said that the party had sought explanation from three MLAs - A Prabhu (Kallakurichi), E Rathinasabapathy (Aranthangi) and VT Kalaiselvan (Vriddhachalam) - who are supporting Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam founder TTV Dhinakaran. He said further action would be taken against them by the party based on their explanations.
Vaithilingam was responding to a query on AIADMK Whip S Rajendran writing to Assembly Speaker P Dhanapal urging him to seek explanation from these three MLAs. A Prabhu, one of the three MLAs, when contacted, told Express that he had not received any communication from the AIADMK headquarters or from the Assembly Speaker.
Answering queries of media persons at the party headquarters here, Vaithilingam said the invitation extended by the party top brass - Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami and Deputy Chief Minister
O Panneerselvam - to those who had drifted away from the AIADMK to return to the party fold was meant for all but Dhinakaran.
Asked about the comment of Rathinasabapathy that the invitation to ‘come back’ was a belated one, Vaithilingam said, “He might have said so, for now. He will come back to the AIADMK after sometime.”
It is to be noted that in August last year, when 19 MLAs met the Governor and withdrew their support to the Chief Minister, the Speaker issued a show-cause notice seeking an explanation. One of the MLAs returned to the fold while as the responses of the other 18 were deemed unsatisfactory, they were disqualified.
The Madras High Court had recently upheld their disqualification. Now, the government headed by Palaniswami has a thin majority to win a no-confidence motion. That is, for simple majority, 108 MLAs are required and the ruling party has the support of just 109. If these three MLAs are disqualified in due course as they have been openly siding with Dhinakaran, the simple majority required to win a no-confidence motion would come down further.