DMK loses no-confidence motion against Speaker in TN Assembly

Chennai: The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) on Thursday lost a no-confidence motion against Tamil Nadu Speaker P Dhanapal in the state Assembly, by a voice vote.

While 97 MLAs voted for the motion, 122 voted against it.

The DMK had earlier declared that it would move a no-confidence motion against Dhanpal for ejecting the party's MLAs from the Assembly during the contentious trust vote of Chief Minister Edappadi Palanisamy last month. Palanisamy, picked by AIADMK general secretary Sasikala to be CM, won the vote 122-11 after DMK MLAs were marched out and the Congress staged a walkout.

The DMK had



moved the Madras High Court against the floor test on February 20. DMK Working President MK Stalin had claimed that his shirt had been torn in the Assembly and that his party workers were attacked. The drama unfolded after DMK MLAs protested the absence of a secret ballot for the motion of confidence.

Meanwhile, both the O Panneerselvam camp and the Sasikala camp in the AIADMK moved the Election Commission asking to be allotted the right to use the party symbol of 'Two Leaves'. However, the EC on Wednesday froze the symbol until the RK Nagar bypoll was over, a decision Panneerselvam called 'disappointing'.