Chennai: The opposition DMK has demanded the holding of election to all the 18 constituencies and by election to Tiruvarur and Thiruparankundram, as well, and asserted that the Madras high court verdict upholding the disqualification of the 18 AIADMK rebels will not affect it.
“The DMK is not concerned about the judgment as it won’t affect us. It is a fight between two factions of the AIADMK. As far as the DMK is concerned, democracy should be protected. Not just Tiruvarur and Thiruparankundram, but 18 other seats have also fallen vacant following today’s verdict and they must have representatives soon,” DMK president M. K. Stalin said on Thursday.
Speaking to reporters here he said that since these segments have no representatives, the EC should come forward to hold polls to all 20 seats. “The people here are waiting to extend massive support to the DMK in the polls,” he added and claimed that his party would win in all these seats if elections were held.
Stalin who had chaired a meeting of party’s district secretaries and party’s Lok Sabha election incharges in all constituencies, earlier in the day, informed, “we discussed the ways and means to face the Lok Sabha elections or simultaneous polls to Assembly and Lok Sabha. We asked the incharge to work in tandem with district secretaries.”
Temporary reprieve:
Meanwhile, the CPI described Thursday’s verdict as a “temporary reprieve” for the Edappadi Palaniswami government. CPI state unit Secretary R. Mutharasan urged the State government to step down in line with the democratic values and “seek fresh mandate from the people.”
A year after the 18 AIADMK legislators, loyal to ousted leader T.T.V. Dhinakaran, were disqualified, the Madras High Court on Thursday upheld the TN Assembly Speaker P. Dhanapal’s order. Justice M. Sathyanarayanan who heard the pleas of the rival parties said there was no infirmity in Dhanapal’s order which was upheld earlier by a bench of then Chief Justice Indira Banerjee.
