DMK submits no-confidence motion letter against Speaker P Dhanapal

Chennai: Three days after the bedlam in the Tamil Nadu Assembly, principal opposition DMK on Tuesday submitted a letter to Assembly Secretary for bringing a no-confidence motion against Speaker P.Dhanapal for acting with an “ulterior motive.”

A high-powered delegation of the DMK led by its working president MK Stalin met Tamil Nadu Legislative Secretary AMP Jamaludeen  and submitted the letter for the no-confidence motion. Mr Stalin had on Monday announced that his party would bring a no-confidence motion against Mr Dhanapal.

For a no-confidence motion to be admitted against the, it needs the signatures of at least 10 per cent of the MLAs of the total strength of the Assembly, which in the case of Tamil Nadu is 34. “We gave the letter to the Legislative Secretary and we also met the Assembly Speaker regarding the motion,” Mr Stalin told reporters after the meeting.

Mr Stalin has been maintaining that Mr Dhanapal “acted with ulterior motive” during the trust vote sought by Chief Minister Edappadi K Palanisami on the floor of the Tamil Nadu Assembly last Saturday.

While the Speaker alleged that he was mistreated because he belonged to the Scheduled Caste, the DMK hit back accusing Mr. Dhanapal of "deliberately harping on his community to malign" the party.

The DMK, which has 89 MLAs in the 234-member Tamil Nadu Assembly, alleges that its members were attacked while they were being removed from the House on the orders of the Speaker. The party has petitioned Governor CH Vidyasagar Rao seeking "nullification" of the trust vote that was held without any Opposition party MLAs present in the House. Mr Stalin is also scheduled to meet President Pranab Mukherjee on the "violence" inside the Assembly on Thursday.