In boost to EPS, speaker disqualifies 18 legislaters backing Dinakaran

CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu assembly speaker P Dhanpal on Monday disqualified 18 pro-ttv Dinakaran MLAS, effectively bringing down the halfway number to 108 in the 234-member assembly in the eventuality of a floor test for the AIADMK government led by Edapaddi Palanisami.

The Palanisami government claims support of 114 MLAS, who had attended a general council meeting that ousted jailed leader VK Sasikala and her nephew Dinakaran from party posts.

The speaker disqualified the MLAS under the anti-defection law, after he was not satisfied with their replies to a notice as to why action should not be taken against them for going against party line.

MLAS of the Dinakaran camp had earlier called on the governor and submitted letters asserting that they had lost faith in Palanisami and wanted him replaced.

TN acting governor C Vidyasagar Rao is expected to arrive in Chennai on Tuesday. The Dinakaran faction described the disqualification of the MLAS as arbitrary, unfair and illegal.

The opposition DMK termed the disqualification “murder of democracy”.

Dinakaran told mediapersons, “Since they (the Palanisami government) never had majority, they have taken a short cut and disqualified the MLAS. Our MLAS will attend the floor test. We are confident that the disqualification will be set aside.”

The Dinakaran group has moved the Madras high court to take up their plea challenging the disqualification. The speaker is said to be moving fast, even notifying the disqualification and informing the election commission of the vacancies in 19 assembly constituencies in the state.

The RK Nagar assembly seat is vacant following J Jayalalithaa’s death in December last year. The RK Nagar by-election, in which Dinakaran was the AIADMK candidate, was cancelled after huge cache of cash was found being distributed to voters.

Incidentally, the Madras high court on Monday ordered the election commission to announce the fresh date for the RK Nagar by-election before December 31.

Senior MLA P Vetrivel, who is with the Dinakaran faction, said, “We have not done anything wrong. We are confident that the court will give order in our favour. It is clear this (the disqualification) has been done to get the magic number.”

DMK working president MK Stalin said the government was trying to achieve majority through the backdoor with a spineless act. “Anti-defection law does not apply in this case and the Speaker is wrong,” Stalin asserted. “The governor and the chief minister are responsible for this critical situation in Tamil Nadu,” he said.

THE DECISION BRINGS THE MAGIC NUMBER IN THE 234MEMBER ASSEMBLY DOWN TO 110 AS AGAINST 117 BEFORE THE DISQUALIFICATION