Thiruvananthapuram,26 May (H.S.):The political confrontation between the ruling Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) government and the opposition AIADMK intensified on Tuesday, with the AIADMK accusing the state government of encouraging defections and engaging in “horse-trading” to consolidate its strength in the Tamil Nadu Assembly.
The allegations were raised by AIADMK MLA Agri Krishnamurthy, a leader aligned with the faction headed by party General Secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami (EPS), after meeting Assembly Speaker J.C.D. Prabhakar at the Secretariat.
Addressing reporters, Krishnamurthy said the AIADMK leadership had issued clear instructions to all party legislators to vote against the TVK government during the recent confidence motion in the Assembly. However, he alleged that 25 AIADMK MLAs violated the party directive and voted in support of the ruling government.
Following the confidence vote, the AIADMK submitted a petition to the Speaker seeking action against the legislators under the anti-defection law. According to Krishnamurthy, the Speaker informed the party that the petition remained under examination and that no final decision had been taken.
The AIADMK leader also raised objections to the acceptance of resignations submitted by three MLAs while disqualification proceedings were still pending. He said the party had specifically requested the Speaker not to process the resignations until the anti-defection petition was resolved.
Krishnamurthy argued that accepting resignations under such circumstances raised serious procedural and democratic concerns. He alleged that the move violated Assembly norms and could create an unhealthy precedent in state politics.
Escalating his criticism of the ruling dispensation, he questioned whether the Secretariat was functioning as the state’s administrative headquarters or as an extension of the TVK party office. Using sharp language, he alleged that “horse-trading is being carried out at horse speed” and warned that encouraging defections could further destabilise Tamil Nadu’s political landscape
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Hindusthan Samachar / Arun Lakshman
