Speaker can’t act on AIADMK MLAs issue: M K Stalin

Tuticorin: DMK chief M K Stalin Thursday said since he has submitted a resolution seeking Speaker P Dhanapal's removal, according to a Supreme Court ruling the latter cannot contemplate action against the three AIADMK MLAs loyal to AMMK founder

TTV Dhinakaran. Canvassing for DMK candidate M C Shanmugaiah for the Ottapidaram (reserved) Assembly bypoll, Stalin accused the ruling AIADMK of sending notices to the three MLAs “to somehow save the government.” Dhanapal had on Tuesday issued notices to three AIADMK MLAs loyal to T T V Dhinakaran, the general secretary of Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK), days after the ruling party petitioned the Tamil Nadu Assembly speaker for action against them for alleged anti-party activities.

 Stalin, who is the Leader of Opposition in the Tamul Nadu Assembly, said, “I have given a letter, a resolution seeking Speaker's removal and according to a Supreme Court ruling, Dhanapal cannot take any action (on the MLAs issue) when a move is pending against him.” Exuding confidence that his party would win bypolls to all the 22 Assembly segments and come to power in Tamil Nadu, he claimed that the AIADMK government had sense defeat and “planned to disqualify the three MLAs.”

Bypolls were held to 18 seats on April 18 and four more segments will go for bye-elections on May 19. A Prabhu (Kallakurichi), VT Kalaiselvan (Vriddhachalam) and E Rathinasabapathy (Aranthangi) are the three MLAs who have been rubbing shoulders with Dhinakaran. After the notices were sent, the DMK submitted a motion in the Assembly Secretariat seeking Dhanapal's removal.

 The DMK chief alleged that the ruling party's focus was only on saving its government and it did not intend to work for the people.

“They are not worried even a little bit about the people... people are angry with this government and even their (AIADMK) partymen are furious against the dispensation since it failed miserably to deliver on all fronts,” Stalin alleged.