Ex-AIADMK minister Vijayabaskar resigns as MLA

CHENNAI: Former AIADMK minister, dissident leader C Vijayabaskar on Tuesday resigned from his MLA post and submitted a letter to Tamil Nadu Assembly Speaker JCD Prabhakar.

The letter of resignation was handwritten by Vijayabaskar, and it was in order and complies with the Assembly Rules and hence it was duly accepted, Prabhakar said in an official release.

Vijayabaskar, a former minister who held the health portfolio in the previous AIADMK regime, represented Viralimalai in Pudukkottai District.

He was among the AIADMK rebel leaders who voted in favour of the TVK regime in the trust vote held in the Assembly on May 13.

Earlier, four other AIADMK MLAs had resigned as legislators and later joined the ruling TVK.

Before resigning as MLA, Vijayabaskar had, without directly naming AIADMK chief Edappadi K Palaniswami, hit out at him saying leadership was not about power or arrogance and it was all about taking along everyone with commitment.

In a social media post, the former health minister said: "Leadership is neither authority nor arrogance…it is dedicated embrace."

Further, he said: "How can a leadership win the hearts of the people when it cannot win the hearts of its cadres who slog for the party? Is a true journey even possible in a place where feelings are not respected? #JustAsking."