TN Speaker Summons Palaniswami and Four Ex-MLAs for July 30 Hearing
Tamil Nadu Assembly Speaker J C D Prabhakar has summoned AIADMK chief Edappadi K Palaniswami and four former party legislators to appear before him in Chennai on July 30 for a disqualification hearing under anti-defection laws.
The four former MLAs summoned for the hearing are Maragatham Kumaravel, who represented the Maduranthakam Assembly constituency, P Sathyabama from Dharapuram, S Jayakumar from Perundurai, and Esakki Subaya from Ambasamudram. All four quit the AIADMK and joined the ruling TVK within a month of winning their election seats.
According to an official, the summonses were formally issued on July 24 by Assembly Secretary R Shanthi on behalf of the Assembly Secretariat. The communications convey the direct orders of the Speaker, requiring the AIADMK chief and the four former legislators to present themselves individually to explain their official stands on the matter.
The Speaker's hearing has been structured with specific time slots for each of the four former lawmakers. Each person has been allotted a scheduled time between 11:00 am and 12:30 pm on July 30 to offer an explanation regarding their actions.
The disqualification proceedings follow a petition filed by Palaniswami, who serves as the AIADMK floor leader in the Assembly. Palaniswami sought formal constitutional action against Maragatham Kumaravel, Sathyabama, Jayakumar, and Esakki Subaya under the 10th Schedule of the Constitution after they resigned as MLAs and switched allegiance to the ruling party despite having won their election victories on AIADMK tickets.
The dispute traces back to a legislative vote on May 13, when a floor test was conducted for the TVK government led by Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay. During that floor test, a group of 25 rebel AIADMK MLAs voted in favour of Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay's administration, actively defying the explicit party diktat issued by the AIADMK leadership.
In the aftermath of the vote, AIADMK general secretary Palaniswami accepted 21 of the rebel MLAs back into the party fold after they reconciled with the leadership and agreed to work under his command. However, Palaniswami maintained his stance against the remaining four who resigned and joined the ruling TVK, pursuing full disqualification proceedings against them before the Assembly Secretariat.
