CHENNAI: Former Minister of Agriculture Krishnamurthy, appointed as the AIADMK Whip by the faction led by General Secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami, announced on Tuesday that a formal whip has been issued to all party MLAs to vote against the TVK government during the upcoming trust vote. Krishnamurthy emphasized that any MLA who votes in favor of the government will face immediate legal action.
Talking to reporters on behalf of Palaniswami’s faction, former Minister OS Manian said they submitted the letters signed by all 47 MLAs supporting Palaniswami as the leader of the legislature party to Speaker JCD Prabhakar.
Manian said CVe Shanmugam alleged that Palaniswami had tried to align with the DMK and made certain remarks to draw more support for them.
All 47 MLAs signed a letter stating that Palaniswami is the leader of the legislature party. “We have quoted a similar issue over to the former SC verdict regarding Shiv Sena to the Speaker,” he added.
Manian also said that according to the party's bylaws, only the AIADMK general secretary can convene the legislative party meeting.
"After the death of former CM J Jayalalithaa, EPS faced many legal hurdles and provided good governance for four and a half years. He undertook a Statewide tour ahead of elections, campaigned strenuously for the AIADMK-led alliance, secured 47 MLAs for the AIADMK, and secured 1.34 crore votes.” Manian added.
Meanwhile, the faction led by CVe Shanmugam and SP Velumani, which announced its support for the TVK government, visited the memorial of former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa and offered prayers.