Filed petition in SC seeking stay on TN Speaker's notice: AIADMK MLA Kalaiselvan

Days after being slapped with a notice by Tamil Nadu Assembly Speaker P Dhanapal seeking an explanation under the anti-defection law for "anti-party" activities, an AIADMK MLA Friday said he has moved the Supreme Court for a stay on the notice.

Dhanapal had on Tuesday issued notices to A Prabhu (Kallakurichi), VT Kalaiselvan (Vriddhachalam) and E Rathinasabapathy (Aranthangi) loyal to T T V Dhinakaran, the general secretary of Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK), days after the ruling party petitioned the Tamil Nadu Assembly speaker for action against them.

Rathinasabapathy and Kalaiselvan said they were in receipt of the notice from the speaker, seeking an explanation for alleged anti-party activities.

"We have filed a petition in the Supreme Court, seeking a stay on the notice of Speaker Dhanapal. It has been admitted and the matter is coming up for hearing on May 6," Kalaiselvan told PTI.

The legislator said that in the petition, it was affirmed that they were firmly with the AIADMK, supported the state government and did not act against the interests of the ruling party and hence no action should be contemplated against them.

Rathinasabapathy and Kalaiselvan said till such time the AMMK functioned as only a "split group" of the AIADMK, they were associated with it.

However, such association ceased the moment steps were announced on April 19 to register AMMK as a separate political party, they said.

"Even a Delhi High Court judgment has said that AMMK's status was that of a split group of the AIADMK," Kalaiselvan claimed.

After Dhanapal issued notices to the three MLAs, DMK chief and Leader of the Opposition M K Stalin submitted a resolution in the Assembly Secretariat, seeking the Speaker's removal.

Kalaiselvan, in his petition, told the apex court that direction needs to be passed prohibiting the Speaker from acting without jurisdiction and to adjudicate the disqualification petition during the pendency of no-confidence motion against him. He further said that the action of the speaker is without jurisdiction, arbitrary and actuated with malice.

Citing a Supreme Court judgment, Stalin also claimed that Dhanapal cannot "act against the MLAs," since he has moved a motion seeking his removal.