press trust of india
Chennai, August 22: Unhappy over the merger with O Panneerselvam faction, MLAs loyal to sidelined AIADMK leaders Sasikala and TTV Dhinakaran Tuesday told the Governor that they no longer had confidence in Chief Minister K Palaniswami, prompting the opposition DMK to demand a trust vote.
“We are going to initiate efforts to bring in a new Chief Minister with the help of our supporting MLAs,” Dhinakaran supporter and Andipatti MLA Thanga Tamil Selvan told reporters following a meeting with Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao, a day after the patch-up between the camps led by Palaniswami and rebel leader Panneerselvam.
The Dhinakaran camp had Monday claimed the support of 25 AIADMK MLAs. Raj Bhavan sources confirmed that the meeting took place Tuesday morning, but did not divulge details, including the number of members in the delegation and the nature of their interaction with Rao.
“We have informed the Governor that we don’t have confidence in the Chief Minister,” Selvan said after the MLAs owing allegiance to Dhinakaran, nephew of jailed AIADMK general secretary V K Sasikala, met Rao. Of the 234-member Assembly, the AIADMK has 134 MLAs excluding the Speaker. Late chief minister Jayalalithaa’s RK Nagar constituency is still vacant.
The DMK has 89 seats followed by its allies Congress eight and IUML one seat. Seeking to capitalise on the developments, principal opposition DMK shot off a letter to the Governor asking him to convene the assembly and direct Palaniswami to prove his majority in the House. Asked about the possibility of the Palaniswami government facing a trust vote, Selvan said that was “our intention.”
“Our intention is that there should be a trust vote. So after that a new Chief Minister will be in place,” he claimed. MLAs supporting Dhinakaran have been on a warpath against Palaniswami, questioning the merger of the Amma faction-led by him and Panneerselvam’s Puratchi Thalaivi Amma faction Monday. Selvan criticised Palaniswami for aligning with Panneerselvam, who had been critical of the government till very recently.
“The 122 (AIADMK) MLAs had made Palaniswami Chief Minister because Chinnamma (Sasikala) asked us to do so. Panneerselvam had voted against the government (in the February 18 trust vote).”He (Panneerselvam) wanted to split the party and topple the government. Yet you (Palaniswami) gave the Deputy Chief Minister’s post to him. What is the need for that now?” Selvan asked. He also expressed anguish over efforts to remove Sasikala from the party.