The Dhinakaran faction of AIADMK and the DMK who had moved to the court demanding a floor test at the Tamil Nadu assembly are once again disappointed.
After the expulsion of Sasikala as interim general secretary as well as her nephew, TTV Dinakaran, as the deputy general secretary at the General assembly meeting convened by both the EPS and OPS faction on Sep 19, the demand for immediate floor test had taken pace.
Apart from the Dhinakaran faction, the main opposition party DMK had also moved to court asking for the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister E Palaniswamy to prove his majority at the assembly. This demand gained momentum after 21 MLAs from AIADMK rebelled against the party to join the Dhinakaran faction. The Madras High Court dealing with the case had earlier said that no floor test will be held before 20 Sep, giving hope that action will be taken after that.
Just 2 days ahead of the scheduled floor test the speaker of the Tamil Nadu expelled 18 of the MLAs who were supporting the Dhinakaran faction. This was a tactful move played by the party to bring down the magical number needed to win the floor test, with 18 seats vacant.
As per the latest developments in the state, the Madras High Court on Wednesday extended the floor test till further notice, further increasing the agitation of the Dhinakaran faction and DMK.
The court has also issued orders to the election commission that no election notifications will be issued for the 18 vacant seat in the Tamil Nadu assembly, after the removal of 18 MLAs.
Justice M Duraiswamy passed the interim order based on the consent given by both parties the speaker’s and the MLAs sides to not to conduct the floor test.
Regarding the removal of the 18 MLAs senior counsel Dushyant Dave defending the MLAs said that they had not broken any party law to have invoked the anti-defection law of the party against them. He said that the 18 MLAs had just approached the Governor declaring their lack of confidence in the Chief Minister. He further alleged that they were unlawfully dragged out of the assembly just to make the Chief Minister sail victorious in the floor test.
Dave also said that the speaker had taken a political side and did unjustly with the 18 MLAs who were suspended. He added that Speaker is not above the law he too is bound to act according to the law. “The MLAs did not vote against the party or resign. So why the question of anti-defection? The Speaker is depriving the MLAs of their rights…He is influenced by somebody,” argued Dave
The MLAs in question neither voluntarily gave up their posts nor denied whip, and yet they were disqualified because the speaker failed to try and ascertain the truth, argued Dave. He further indirectly accused the ruling BJP saying that people sitting in Delhi were deciding the fate back in Tamil Nadu.
Dave also said that the speaker had taken a political side and did unjustly with the 18 MLAs who were suspended. He added that Speaker is not above the law he too is bound to act according to the law.
Responding to this allegation of Dave speaker’s senior counsel Aryama Sundaram said that it will be wrong to drag the centre in the internal affairs of the state. The court has set 3 Oct as the next date for the hearing.
Following the recent developments in the state’s political equations, around 100 DMK and Congress MLAs have threatened to give a mass resignation, pressurizing the Tamil Nadu Governor to dissolve the house.
Significantly, amid all these chaos, the Tamil Nadu Governor C Vidyasagar Rao, on Tuesday. met with Union Minister Rajnath Singh. He also held meeting with President Ramnath Kovind and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley a day ahead of meeting the Home Minister.
The Governor holding meetings with Higher officials at the Centre, when his presence in Tamil Nadu in such critical situations is more important, speaks otherwise of the intentions of the Governor and the ruling AIADMK.