Coimbatore: Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami has slammed DMK president M. K. Stalin for 'interfering' in AIADMK party affairs and sought to know why the DMK leader is turning turbulent when action is being contemplated against the AIADMK legislators.
Chief Minister K Palaniswami Wednesday flayed DMK president M K Stalin for seeking Assembly Speaker P Dhanapal's removal for issuing notices to three AIADMK MLAs siding with rival leader and AMMK founder TTV Dhinakaran, saying it showed the "proximity" between the two opposition parties.
The AIADMK Joint Coordinator sought to know why Stalin, the leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, was "getting outraged" over the ruling party's internal affairs and said he did not know on what basis the DMK moved the resolution seeking the speaker's removal.
"Why is Stalin getting turbulent at the AIADMK taking action on its MLAs. His support clearly reveals his proximity to the AMMK," Mr. Palaniswami said on Wednesday. Speaking to reporters here the Chief Minister who is also the joint coordinator of the ruling AIADMK, said Stalin's support for the three (dissident) MLAs is tantamount to interfering in the AIADMK affairs.
The CM's outburst comes a day after the DMK president sought to move a no-confidence motion against the Tamil Nadu Assembly Speaker P. Dhanapal for issuing notices to three dissident AIADMK legislators: A. Prabhu, V. T. Kalaiselvan and E. Rathinasabapathy (who were elected from Kallakurichi, Vriddhachalam and Aranthangi, respectively) for supporting AMMK leader T. T. V. Dhinakaran.
The Speaker's action follows a representation made to him on April 26 by the Government Chief Whip S. Rajendran who had sought the Speaker to disqualify the three MLAs.
Mr. Palaniswami noted that the Whip had given a complaint against the AIADMK MLAs for anti-party activities. "But I don't know why the leader of the Opposition is getting turbulent ... they are not members of their organisation (DMK). The kind of statements made by them (DMK) and them getting outraged has shown very clearly their proximity to the AMMK," he said.
The CM reiterated that Rajendran had sought action against the three MLAs as "they had gone against" the AIADMK; and he questioned the rationale behind Stalin's action.
Meanwhile, in Chennai, State Fisheries Minister D. Jayakumar made a similar statement saying that the secret association of the DMK and AMMK has now come out into the open as both of them criticised the AIADMK taking action on the three MLAs.
