KRISHNAGIRI: Krishnagiri municipality AIADMK councillor M Nagajothi, who 'joined hands' with DMK councillors to pass a no-confidence motion against municipality chairperson B Farida Nawab, on Monday, was removed by AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami on Wednesday. Notably, other AIADMK councillors had abstained from the vote.
It was on Monday, a no-confidence motion was passed at Krishnagiri municipality against DMK chairperson B Farida Nawab, in which out of 33 councillors, 27 councillors took part— 21 from DMK, 4 independents, 1 from Congress and 1 from AIADMK councillor voted against the chairperson. There are five AIADMK councillors in the municipality, of whom four councillors did not take part in the no-confidence motion, but one AIADMK councillor, M Nagajothi of ward 9, took part and voted against the DMK chairperson along with other DMK and independent councillors.
A day before the motion on Sunday, Nagajothi joined the DMK camp, and on the following day, AIADMK Krishnagiri east district secretary and Krishnagiri MLA K Ashok Kumar, Krishnagiri AIADMK town secretary PNA Kesavan, along with AIADMK cadres, staged a demonstration against Krishnagiri DMK, stating that the AIADMK councillor was allegedly kidnapped by DMK councillors.
However, just before the motion, Nagajothi informed AIADMK cadres that she was not kidnapped. After the no-confidence motion was passed, Nagajothi told reporters that she wanted development in all 33 wards of the municipality, and that is why she voted against DMK chairperson B Farida Nawab. Following the issue, EPS removed Nagajothi from the basic membership of the party for disciplinary violations on Tuesday. She was also the Krishnagiri town women's wing treasurer.
When TNIE contacted PNA Kesavan, he said that their party did not want to take part in the no-confidence motion brought by DMK councillors against their chairperson, but since one AIADMK councillor participated, the party took action against her. Nagajothi was unavailable for comment.
On October 16, a total of 23 councillors from DMK and independents petitioned Krishnagiri Municipality Commissioner B Sathish Kumar to bring a no-confidence motion against the Krishnagiri Municipality DMK chairperson B Farida Nawab. Following this, the no-confidence motion was scheduled for Monday due to disparities in the allocation of funds and other issues to councillors.