DMK working president M K Stalin. (file photo)
The DMK staged a walkout from the Tamil Nadu Assembly after Speaker P Dhanpal refused to read out the Governor’s instructions seeking an explanation on the horse-trading charges raised by the party.
This comes days after the DMK working president MK Stalin met the Governor and urged him to nullify the February 18 floor test and dismiss the government. Demanding a fresh floor test, the Opposition, led by the DMK, alleged that a faction of the AIADMK was involved in “horse-trading” to firm up support for the Palaniswami government.
Last week, the issue triggered a storm in the assembly with Speaker Dhanpal refusing to allow discussion on the issue. Citing previous House precedents, Dhanpal claimed that a debate cannot be allowed based on media reports. A sting operation by a TV channel purportedly showed a few AIADMK MLAs accepting money in exchange for their support. The assembly proceeding were repeatedly disrupted ever since the House convened on July 14. DMK lawmakers were even evicted from the assembly after they protested against the issue. They staged a walkout for the next two days.
On Tuesday, AIADMK deputy general secretary TTV Dhinakaran met jailed party general secretary Sasikala in Bengaluru’s Parappana Agrahara prison. The two reportedly discussed about the stalled merger talks with the O Panneerselvam faction and the upcoming presidential election. Sasikala is yet to take a call on how the AIADMK would vote in the July 17 election.
