CM’s closed-door meeting with Speaker raises many eyebrows

Though the Assembly department sources maintained that the Chief Minister spent a few minutes with the Speaker to exchange Deepavali greetings, but it is reliably learnt that there was more to it. The Speaker known for stern action had already disqualified 18 MLAs and four more MLAs including Karunas, A Prabhu, E Rathinasapathy and VT Kalaiselvan are now under the radar of Dhanapal for their alleged anti party activities.

The AIADMK leaders had also began the discussions related to the 11 MLAs disqualification case now pending before the Supreme Court, the ruling AIADMK has filed two caveats in this regard.

“The ranks and files in the party are now discussing strategies about the party’s bypoll prospective in all the 20 vacant assembly seats in TN and the issue of three MLAs, who are with AMMK were also discussed with the party leadership,” an AIADMK district secretary told DT Next.

“The three ruling AIADMK MLAs have shifted their allegiance to the rebel leader Dhinakaran and few of the MLAs feel that there should be some action against them. Our party whip S Rajendran had already expressed his views and now we are awaiting the Speaker’s action against the MLAs. This is also a ground for disqualification,” a senior AIADMK leader said.

Meanwhile, the ruling party is bit relieved thanks to the Election Commission, which on Wednesday rejected the expelled AIADMK functionary KC Palanisamy’s request to depute its officer to supervise the AIADMK’s organisational polls. The EC had rejected all the seven pleas filed by the sulking former MLA, who had complained to the EC saying that the appointment of party convenor and joint convenor was a violation to the rules and by laws of AIADMK.

In a related development, AMMK propaganda secretary Thangatamilselvan told reporters that all the disqualified MLAs were gearing up for the bypolls and they will contest after getting valid clearances from the elections department to ensure that there is no ‘political’ strategies to thwart the candidatures of all 18 disqualified MLAs.