DMK mounts multi-pronged attack on AIADMK

As a part of its multi-pronged attack on Chief Minister K.Palaniswami's government and to protest events inside Tamil Nadu assembly on February 18, the DMK under the leadership of Working President M. K. Stalin on Wednesday held a day-long hunger strike across the state.

While Stalin led the hunger strike in Tiruchirapalli, around 350 km from here, other leaders are protested in various districts.

Meanwhile, the Madras High Court declined to pass any interim order to put on hold or annul the trust vote won by Palaniswami in the assembly and adjourned the case filed by Stalin for February 27.

The court also ordered submission of the video footage of the happenings in the Tamil Nadu assembly on February 18 -- the day Palaniswami sought and won the trust vote by securing 122 votes and 11 against.

Stalin, who is also the Leader of Opposition in the assembly, had filed a plea to seek annulment of the trust vote.

In his petition, he also sought the court's directions to assembly Speaker P. Dhanapal to hold the trust vote with a secret ballot under a monitoring committee comprising the Governor's Secretary, Chief Secretary and a senior official from the Election Commission.

On February 18, the DMK and other opposition parties demanded secret ballot or adjournment of the assembly session by a week after Palaniswami moved the confidence motion.

Dhanapal refused to accept the demand.

DMK members then sat in protest inside the assembly and were later evicted by marshals.

The DMK on Tuesday gave a letter intimating the party's decision to bring a no confidence motion against Dhanapal.

Meanwhile Stalin said he would be meeting the President Pranab Mukherjee on Thursday and brief him about the incidents that happened inside the assembly on February 18.

Countering the multiple forum attack of DMK, the ruling AIADMK countered that the opposition is trying to topple a democratically elected government.

Speaking to reporters here, AIADMK spokesperson Panruti S Ramachandran defended the Speaker's action of evicting the DMK members from the assembly on February 18, accusing the opposition party of trying to destabilise the government and the party.

--IANS

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