6 AINRC MLAs hold meeting; set off speculations

The 28-month old N Rangasamy government in the union territory today faced a virtual revolt from six of ruling AINRC's 15 MLAs who held a closed-door meeting here to discuss their grievances, setting off speculations about the stability of the ministry.
The six AINRC MLAs, including government Whip G Nehru, met for more than one and half-hours and then called on Speaker V Sabapathy who assured that their problems would be addressed.
Emerging from the meeting with the Speaker, the six MLAs told reporters that they "discussed only problems related to their constituencies".
AINRC has 15 MLAs in the 30-member assembly and the government depends on the outside support of independent member V M C Shivakumar.

Even as the six MLAs, five of whom are first-timers, were closeted in the chamber of Nehru in the assembly premises, Chief Minister N Rangasamy, replying to questions from reporters about it at a function elsewhere, ruled out any threat to his government.
"All our partymen are united", said Rangasamy who broke away from Congress and made electoral debut in May, 2011 by floating AINRC.
The meeting of the MLAs came in the backdrop of war of words between Rangasamy and Lt Governor Virendra Kataria over the law and order situation in the union territory and the opposition's demand for his resignation.

Besides Nehru, other MLAs who attended the meeting were M.Vaithianathan (Parliamentary Secretary to Chief Minister), Ashok Anand (Chairman of state-owned PASIC), P.Karthikeyan (Chairman of Slum Clearance Board), P.Angalane (Chairman of PIPDIC) and former minister P M L Kalyanasundaram.