House to take up motion against Tamil Nadu Assembly Speaker next week

Chennai: Assembly Speaker P. Dhanapal on Thursday assured DMK MLAs that a no confidence motion moved by the party against him will be taken up during the budget session that ends on March 24.

As the House convened on Thursday for presentation of budget by finance minister D. Jayakumar, DMK members were on their feet demanding to know the fate of their motion against Speaker for his “biased” behaviour during the trust vote sought by Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palanisami on February 18.

Mr Dhanapal said the first notice submitted by the DMK for moving a no confidence motion on February 21 was not in order and hence was rejected. However, another notice for moving the motion, submitted by legislators E. V. Velu and K. Ponmudy, was found to be in order.

“Rules mandate that the motion should be taken up with 14 days and since the notice was moved only on March 9, there is some time left. But I assure the DMK members that the motion will be taken up during this session,” Mr Dhanapal said.

The assurance by the Speaker prompted the DMK members to go back to their seats after which Mr Jayakumar began reading his Budget speech.

Support or signature of 34 MLAs (10 per cent of the total strength of the Assembly) is needed to bring a no confidence motion against Speaker and it has to be accepted if it is submitted 14 days ahead. The DMK has 89 members in the House.

Last motion against speaker in 1972
This is perhaps only the second time such a notice has been submitted to bring a no confidence motion against Speaker. In 1972, the then DMK government brought a no confidence motion against its own Speaker Mathiazhagan after he sided with rebel leader M.G. Ramachandran.