AIADMK chief whip calls for disqualification of 19 rebel MLAs, Speaker sends notice

Two days after 19 MLAs supporting TTV Dinakaran told Tamil Nadu Governor C Vidyasagar Rao that they have no confidence in Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami, the government's chief whip in the Assembly S Rajendran has called for their disqualification.

"Request Tamil Nadu Speaker P Dhanapal to disqualify all the 19 MLAs who acted without consulting me," said Palaniswami government's chief whip Rajendran.

Based on the chief whip's recommendation, the Speaker has sent a notice to the 19 AIADMK legislators seeking an explanation within a week.

The Dinakaran faction has hit back and threatened to go to court against the recommendations of the Palaniswami government's chief whip.

"We will go to court against this recommendation of the whip to Speaker. We only want change of



chief minister," said MLA Thanga Tamil Selvan, a supporter of Dinakaran.

MLA Vetrivel, another member of the TTV Dinakaran faction, said, "The whip did not give us any order and so how would we counter his order. The whip has not removed the people who voted against the government."

"We never said that we don't want the government, just the change of the chief minister. Our Chinnamalai only gave us a proposal to make Edappadi the CM and we gave the support letter to the Governor. If that letter is valid, so would this one be," said Vetrivel.

He said during the MLAs' meeting with the Governor the legislators presented him a letter withdrawing support to Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami. He said the current move by the chief whip is a way to "threaten innocent MLAs".