DMK moves Madras High Court challenging Palaniswami’s trust vote

Chennai, February 20

The DMK on Monday approached the Madras High Court with a request to hear the issue of trust vote won by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K. Palaniswami two days ago.

The court asked the DMK’s counsel to submit a petition which could be heard on Tuesday.

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The DMK decision to move the court comes a day after DMK leader M.K. Stalin urged the Governor to nullify the Assembly proceedings of Saturday when Palaniswami won the confidence vote amid bedlam.

Stalin, Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, told Governor C. Vidayasagar Rao that the motion of confidence moved by Palaniswami was adopted in the absence of the entire Opposition.

Stalin requested Rao to invoke his constitutional powers “to nullify the entire proceedings with a view to protect the spirit of democracy and the Constitution”.

Stalin said the police were mobilised, giving an impression of a “war-like situation” around the Assembly complex and the voting took place amid an “atmosphere of terror”.

According to Stalin, the AIADMK legislators belonging to the now jailed V.K. Sasikala camp were brought to the Assembly from a resort “under tight security and they appeared to be under constant threat”.

Stalin said Speaker P. Dhanapal did not respond to his request for a secret ballot on the confidence motion.

According to the DMK leader, the party legislators had no other way but to stage a peaceful sit-in inside the House.

“The Speaker ordered expulsion of all the members of the DMK, without following the procedure. The police entered the house presumably on instructions given in advance by the Speaker.

“The police and the Assembly guards forcibly evicted us from the House and in this process many of us sustained bleeding injuries.

“The other Opposition parties staged a walk-out, strongly protesting against the action of the Speaker,” Stalin told Rao.

On receipt of Stalin’s complaint, Rao asked the Tamil Nadu Assembly Secretary to submit a report on the happenings of Saturday. — IANS