CHENNAI: Four former AIADMK MLAs who resigned from the Tamil Nadu Assembly have submitted their replies to Speaker JCD Prabhakar in response to notices issued over allegations raised by the AIADMK leadership.
The notices were issued following a petition by AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami seeking action against the legislators for voting in favour of the TVK-led government despite the party's stand during the confidence motion.
Speaker Prabhakar had served notices on June 9 to former MLAs K Maragatham Kumaravel, P Sathyabama, S Jayakumar and Esakki Subbiah, seeking their explanations regarding the allegations.
The Speaker had directed them to submit their responses within seven days of receiving the notices. Accordingly, all four former legislators submitted their replies separately to the Speaker on Wednesday. He said he would examine the responses before deciding on the matter.
Meanwhile, the Assembly Secretariat has officially declared the Viralimalai Assembly constituency vacant following the resignation of AIADMK MLA C Vijayabaskar.
With the addition of Viralimalai, the number of vacant Assembly constituencies in Tamil Nadu has increased to six, setting the stage for a possible round of by-elections in the coming months.