Chennai: Two days after the en-masse suspension of DMK MLAs for seven days, the party treasurer and leader of the opposition M.K.Stalin approached the Madras high court seeking revocation of the suspension of 80 MLAs from the Tamil Nadu State Legislative Assembly.
The petition filed by Stalin, which also sought to permit him and other suspended members of the TN Legislative Assembly to attend and participate in the present session of the Assembly, is likely to come up for hearing on August 22.
Stalin also sought to declare as unconstitutional Rule 121 of the TN Legislative Assembly Rules, which provides for the grave punishment of suspension without any opportunity of hearing to the member in question.
Stalin alleged that the entire course of events appears to be an elaborate charade preconceived and designed to deprive the members of the DMK party of an opportunity to engage in the debates and proceedings of the assembly in the forthcoming week in which the agenda of the house includes passing of vital Bills and budget proposals.
The resolution to suspend them has been passed clearly to rule out any objections or opposition or debate on these important Bills, which were to be tabled before the Assembly in the current session in the forthcoming week, he added.
Stalin submitted that on August 17, during the course of Assembly proceedings, an MLA belonging to AIADMK party made adverse remarks on the “Nammaku Naame” road show organised by the DMK party as a part of its election campaign before the Assembly elections, for which he gave an appropriate reply.
Immediately, ruling AIADMK MLAs demanded that his reply be expunged and thereupon he also requested the statement made by the AIADMK MLA also be expunged if his comments were to be expunged. Thereafter, the Leader of the House moved a motion for the suspension of all the members belonging to the DMK party, who had signed the attendance register for their alleged willful obstruction of the business of the House, he added.
He said the Speaker of the House ordered withdrawal of the members belonging to the DMK party, as a class. While so, a motion was proposed by the Leader of the House which was approved by the Assembly, to suspend all the members of the DMK party (without naming them), who had signed the attendance register on that day, without any basis or material.
