CHENNAI: The AIADMK camp led by its president Edappadi K Palaniswami on Tuesday submitted a petition to the Tamil Nadu Assembly Speaker not to accept the resignation of three MLAs of the party, citing alleged legal and procedural lapses behind their stepping down.
The party claimed that the three MLAs had joined the ruling TVK even before their resignation was notified.
Senior AIADMK leaders Agri SS Krishnamoorthy and Rajya Sabha MP IS Inbadurai met JCD chief Prabhakar and submitted a report in this regard.
Krishnamurthy said that while their earlier petition seeking disqualification of 25 MLAs for defying party diktats by voting against the government in the floor test was pending before the Speaker, he could not accept the resignation of the legislators concerned.
“We have sought action against 25 AIADMK MLAs under the anti-defection law for defying Palaniswami’s diktat on confidence vote. The matter is under consideration. Fearing action under the anti-defection law, the three tendered their resignations. When the earlier petition was pending, the Speaker accepting their resignations is against the rules. We filed a petition on behalf of the AIADMK, saying he should not accept their resignation,” the Speaker said.
He claimed that within five minutes of submitting their resignation, a “laminated TVK membership card” was handed over to the three people.
“People are wondering whether this is the Secretariat headquarters or the TVK headquarters. If this government encourages such resignations, there will be increased negotiations, and the government must come forward to stop this,” he said.
Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay has promised clean governance. “To establish his rule through the back door, this government is trading on the speed of a horse,” the senior leader claimed.
Inpadurai, AIADMK supporters’ wing secretary, said their side had sought action against the rebel MLAS under the anti-defection law, and that petition was still pending. “The legal issue is that he cannot accept their resignation” in such circumstances.
“They met a minister from TVK before notifying them of their resignation… and dramatized their official joining. However, their resignation notice did not come. So we sought not to accept their resignation,” he said.
MLAs cannot resign when action is demanded under the anti-defection law. “You can’t escape through the back door,” he added.
Three MLAs from the rebel side Maragatham Kumaravel, P Sathyabama and S Jayakumar resigned from the posts of MLAs on Monday and later joined TVK.
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