Chief Minister V. Narayanasamy on Monday termed the allegation made by former legislator Om Sakthi Sekar that the Election Commission of India has served notices on six Congress and two DMK MLAs on the office of profit issue as “baseless and far from truth.”
Addressing a press conference here, the Chief Minister said except for R.K.R. Anantharaman of the Congress, who is the government whip, none of the MLAs has received any notice from the Election Commission.
The post of Parliamentary Secretary and other legislators as chairman of corporations and public sector undertakings were backed by appropriate legislation.
The Legislative Assembly in 1971, with the consent of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, had passed the Parliamentary Secretary (Payment of Special Allowance and Prevention of Parliamentary Secretary (Payment of Special Allowance and Prevention of Disqualification) Act, the Chief Minister said. He said the appointment of the government whip was not covered under the Assembly legislation.
However, the appointment of whip was as per the provisions enshrined in the Anti-Defection Law contained in the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution.
‘Ready for probe’
The Chief Minister said Mr. Anantharaman had received a notice and he had volunteered to make a personal appearance before the Commission on September 27. “The former AIADMK legislator was speaking without knowing the facts. It is distortion of facts and there is no threat to the government,” the Chief Minister said.