HC seeks footage of trust vote proceedings in TN assembly

CHENNAI :The Madras high court on Monday directed the Tamil Nadu assembly secretary to produce the video recording of the entire House proceedings on the day of the confidence vote, which was adopted amid unruly scenes.

The court gave the direction while issuing notice to assembly speaker P Dhanapal and chief minister K Palaniswami and others on a PIL by opposition DMK seeking to declare the confidence vote adopted on February 18 as null and void.

The trust vote was won by Palaniswami by a 122-11 margin in the 234-member assembly after the eviction of DMK MLAs and a walkout by its allies, amid stormy scenes during which mikes were uprooted, chairs toppled and sheets of papers torn.

The video recording of the House proceedings on February 18 must be from the commencement till the end, the court said.

On February 22, the court had directed the DMK to produce clippings or any other recordings to substantiate its claim that the trust vote won by Palaniswami ministry was held in contravention of the assembly rules.