CHENNAI: The ruling DMK on Thursday suspended the primary membership of three corporation councillors and a party functionary in Tirunelveli district for violating the party discipline.

A notification issued by DMK general secretary, councilors Paulraj (ward 6), Mansoor (ward 20), Ravindar (ward 24) and Tirunelveli city party unit functionary R Mani aka 'Sunnambu' Mani were suspended from the party for violating the party discipline and acting in a manner bringing disrepute to the party.

DMK insiders with knowledge of the development said the disciplinary action was inspired by the recent sit-in protest staged by the councilors of Tirunelveli Corporation allegedly against their own party mayor.

A party source privy to the development said that the councilors were the brain behind the sit-in protest, which turned out to be an embarrassment for the party.

The sit in or even Thursday's disciplinary action was a fall out of the long-time discord between the Tirunelveli mayor Saravanan and his own party councilors, which panned out so ugly a few months ago that the party high command sacked district secretary Wahab and replaced him with old timer TPM Mohideen Khan.

Meanwhile, source confided that the suspended councilors, along with a few other disgruntled council members of the civic council, held a discussion on moving a no confidence motion against their own party mayor who was elected as the chief of the civic council with a brutal majority.