CHENNAI: A day after ousted deputy general secretary of AIADMK T T V Dhinakaran removed four ministers and several others from various posts of the party, the official faction retaliated by initiating steps to disqualify the 19 dissenting MLAs staying at a private resort in Puducherry.
Thursday marked hectic activities as the faction, led by Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami, went into a huddle to discuss the political developments. The Chief Minister closeted with Speaker P Dhanapal, Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam and his senior Cabinet colleagues in the morning.
They were stated to have discussed the threat posed by 19 MLAs owing allegiance to Dhinakaran by submitting letters to Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao. Later, the government’s chief whip S Rajendran told reporters that he had requested the Speaker to take action to disqualify the 19 dissenting MLAs.
“I submitted a memorandum to the Speaker to disqualify the said members as per Section 6 of Members of Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly (Disqualification on ground of defection) Rules, 1986,” he said.
The chief whip observed that when there was neither any decision nor resolution taken against the consensual decision of all AIADMK MLAs, 19 MLAs have submitted letters to the Governor against the party’s legislature leadership saying they had withdrawn their support to the Chief Minister as reported in the media. Moreover, the MLAs have also given interviews to television channels on those lines, he said.
“Such act renders them relinquishing the membership of the party they belong to, making them liable for disqualification under Schedule 10 of the Indian Constitution,” Rajendran explained.
Subsequently, the Speaker issued notices to the dissenting MLAs, sources said. The legislators facing the risk of disqualification are: T V Ezhumalai (Poonamallee), P Vetrivel (Perambur), M Kothandapani (Tiruporur), N G Parthiban (Sholingur), C Jayanthi Padmanabhan (Gudiyatham), R Balasubramni (Ambur), P Palaniappan (Pappireddipatti), R Murugan (Harur), R Thangadurai (Nilakottai), V Senthilbalaji (Aravakurichi), M Rangasamy (Thanjavur), S Mariappan Kennedy (Manamadurai), Thanga Tamilselvan (Andipatti), Dr K Kathirkamu (Periakulam), S T K Jakkaiyan (Cumbum), S G Subramanian (Sathur), Dr S Muthaiah (Paramakudi), K Uma Maheshwari (Vilathikulam) and R Sundararaj (Ottapidaram).