CHENNAI: A day after Law Minister C Ve Shanmugam and AIADMK Whip S Rajendran submitted a petition to Assembly Speaker P Dhanapal seeking to disqualify three AIADMK MLAs for showing allegiance to the AMMK, the petition is being looked into by the Speaker.
Sources in the Secretariat said the petition, submitted by the AIADMK along with the documents including the videos in which the three MLAs - Rathinasabapathy (Aranthangi), Kalaiselvan (Vriddhachalam) and A Prabhu (Kallakuruchi) - were campaigning for the candidates of the AMMK in the Lok Sabha elections held on April 18, was under consideration of the Speaker. “A show-cause notice seeking an explanation from three MLAs will be sent in a few days. Based on their response, further action will be followed,” said a party member.
Meanwhile, addressing media persons here on Saturday, AMMK’s Perambur MLA candidate Vetrivel said that they were prepared to face the by-elections if the three MLAs were disqualified by the Speaker. “When the 18 MLAs were disqualified by the Speaker, we have no legal impunity. But later, the High Court and Supreme Courts observed that we are (AMMK) a faction of the AIADMK. So they cannot disqualify us,” he added.
Constitutional provisions
According to sources, the Speaker can disqualify the three MLAs according to the 10th Schedule of the Constitution, which gives the Speaker the right to disqualify an MLA on the ground of defection. Whip S Rajendran had claimed that he had submitted the petition along with proper evidence to substantiate his charges against the MLAs. Earlier, 18 AIADMK MLAs were disqualified by the Speaker last year, based on a complaint lodged by Rajendran after they had met the then Governor with a representation to remove Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami