Swamy slams TN assembly speaker for disqualifying 18 MLAs supporting Dinakaran

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Subramanian Swamy on Monday lashed out at the Tamil Nadu Assembly Speaker, P. Dhanapal, for disqualifying 18 All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) MLAs for supporting sidelined party leader T.T.V. Dinakaran and said he has committed an illegality by doing so.

The BJP leader further expressed surprise over the move and said a typical cinema culture has pervaded Tamil Nadu.

"He (Tamil Nadu Speaker) suspended them according to which law? I am surprised the speaker has disregarded the Supreme Court judgements and the basic principles of criminal law. The criminal law requires some offence to be committed. What offence they have committed? They have only said that they will vote against Edappadi K. Palanisamy, how does it warrant disqualification?," Swamy told ANI.

He further said that there are constitutional principles and procedures on the basis of which disqualification can be done.

"There are only two conditions under which disqualifications take place. First condition is that you have voluntarily written to the speaker that you are leaving the party. Second condition is when you have violated the three line whip. Which three line whip have they violated?," he added.

The Tamil Nadu Assembly Speaker earlier in the day disqualified 18 AIADMK MLAs, who had been backing Dinakaran.

The MLAs have been disqualified with effect from today, under the 1986 Tamil Nadu Assembly Members Party Defection Law.

The disqualified MLAs include Thanga Tamilselvan, Senthil Balaji, P. Vetrivel and K. Mariappan.

The Dinakaran faction had earlier met the officials from the Election Commission and requested them to declare the recently-conducted general council meeting of the party null and void.

Vijila Sathyananth, of the Dinakaran faction, told the media here that the faction would soon hold a general council meet of the party after the consent of their general secretary - V.K. Sasikala.

The faction also moved the Madras High Court on plea over a floor test in the Tamil Nadu assembly.

The AIADMK, in its general council meeting, had passed a resolution, according to which jailed party general secretary V.K. Sasikala stood expelled from the party and the post of the temporary general secretary forfeited.

The resolution further said that the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, E. Palanisamy and his deputy, O. Panneerselvam, shall retrieve the party and its symbol.

Other terms of the resolution state that all announcements by T.T.V. Dinakaran stand cancelled.

Tamil Nadu's leader of opposition M.K. Stalin also said that he had moved the Madras High Court because Governor C. Vidyasagar Rao did not take due cognisance of his request of conducting a floor test in state assembly.

Stalin said he had asserted earlier that he will approach the court if Rao fails to address his concerns.

The DMK leader demanded an immediate floor test from the Governor.