All 17 disqualified members should quit and face fresh polls: Tamilselvan
Chennai: AMMK leader T.T.V. Dhinakaran’s loyalist Thanga Tamilselvan who has announced that he is quitting his MLA’s post to face a fresh poll, has called upon the remaining 17 persons who have been disqualified along with him, to resign and join hands with him in seeking people’s mandate.
Justifying his appeal, which comes a day after Dhinakaran denied disunity in his party and claimed that all the 18 members were with him, Tamilselvan reiterated that he had lost faith in the judiciary, especially after the split verdict was delivered in the MLA disqualification case.
“It’s my opinion that all of us (disqualified by TN Assembly Speaker P. Dhanapal for rebelling against Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami last year) should together seek fresh mandate from the people after resigning our MLAs post. Then the entire world will look at us. We will get good results (in elections),” he said and claimed this was the only solution as the court has not given a clear-cut judgment.
Asked if his call to other members to face polls again amount to rebelling against Mr Dhinakaran, Tamilselvan who was in his constituency Andipatti on Sunday, shot back, “what is wrong in going my way? He (Mr Dhinakaran) had asked me to decide and proceed and that is exactly what I am doing (now). Hence, the question of disunity or rebellion in the party does not arise.”
On Saturday, State Fisheries Minister D. Jayakumar took pot shots at Mr Dhinakaran who justified Thanga Tamilselvan’s decision to re-contest in Andipatti, saying “he (Dhinakaran) is gauging the depth before taking the plunge.”
Claiming that there was nothing wrong in contesting again, Mr Dhinakaran had said seeking to get elected on ‘pressure cooker’ symbol, would provide his group an opportunity to prove that they are the real followers of Amma (late CM J.Jayalalithaa).
The former legislator said his decision was prompted by the fact that his Andipatti has been left with no representative for nearly past 10 months. “We (18 MLAs) lost our post for no mistake of ours... I am not able to go to the constituency. There are a lot of people’s issues to be highlighted in the Assembly. I am ready to perform the democratic duties in the House. And I am ready to face by-poll,” he said.
Meanwhile, former TN Assembly Speaker Sedapatti R. Muthiah claimed that it might not be a smooth take off for Thanga Tamilselvan nor would the Speaker be in a comfortable position to rescind his ‘disqualification’ order.
“Tamilselvan claims that he would withdraw the case (he filed challenging the disqualification). Which court would he approach for this now? Secondly, there are many technicalities involved in this case. The Speaker cannot revoke his order so easily,” Mr. Muthiah told a Tamil television news channel.
There could be a likelihood of revoking the order only if AIADMK pardons all rebel members, readmits them into the party and appeals to the Speaker to withdraw the disqualification order.
“But this is unlikely,” Mr Muthiah said and added much would also depend on the verdict to be pronounced by a third judge to whom the split verdict has been referred to.
