Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, May 25: In a surprise development, three newly-elected AIADMK Members of the Tamil Nadu Assembly, who were part the SP Velumani faction extending support to the C Joseph Vijay-led Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) government, on Monday resigned from the House.
The three MLAs, Maragatham Kumaravel, the MLA for Madurantakam constituency (Chengalpattu district), S. Jayakumar, the MLA for Perundurai constituency (Erode district), and P. Sathyabama, the MLA for Dharapuram constituency (Tiruppur district), met the Speaker J.C.D. Prabhakar in the afternoon and handed over their resignation letters.
The Speaker later announced that their resignations have been accepted. Soon after, they met Public Works Department Minister Aadhav Arjuna at the Secretariat and joined the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK). With this, the AIADMK’s strength in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly has dropped to 44.
AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami condemned what he termed as “vulgar politics” and “horse trading” introduced in Tamil Nadu by the ruling TVK. Any attempt to defeat and replace the AIADMK would remain a dream, he said.
A cinema celebrity, who claimed to bring about purity in politics, has resorted to “underhand dealings” to save his government, which is a matter of “shame,” Mr Palaniswami said without naming anyone. The people of Tamil Nadu were amused at the efforts of the “minority government” to stay in power, he added.
The act of the resignation of three MLAs in the ground floor of the Secretariat-cum-Assembly complex and within a few minutes receiving party membership from a TVK Minister in the first floor, only exposed that it was a pre-meditated drama and attempts of “horse trading.”
“The underhanded dealings of the TVK government is a new approach in Tamil Nadu politics. The AIADMK has been a great movement serving the people bearing several acts of betrayal and back-stabbing. Be it the MLAs who support the government or those have resigned now, they should not forget that they contested against the symbol of the cinema celebrity,” Mr Palaniswami pointed out.
Mr Palaniswami removed party functionary Thaiyur S. Kumaravel from all positions including the party’s primary membership. The general secretary said the actions of Mr Kumaravel were not in line with the party’s discipline and further brought disrepute to the party. The AMMK founder T.T.V. Dhinakaran referred to the charges of “horse trading” he made earlier and contended that his charges were turning out to be true.
The DMK president and former Chief Minister M.K. Stalin also described their resignations followed by immediate meeting with the Minister to join the TVK as “horse trading at horse speed.” ”Those who proclaimed themselves as a clean force (the ruling TVK) have now been thoroughly exposed and have become a tragic force,” he said in a social media message.
He said the TVK, “in the first scene, sought the support of leaders of the DMK’s alliance partners and, in the second scene, bargained with a section of AIADMK MLAs and a lone MLA of the AMMK during the trust vote.” “In the third scene, it has engineered the resignation of AIADMK MLAs and made them join the party in the Secretariat itself. Did people vote for you just to witness these unsavoury scenes?” he asked.
Mr Stalin said the drama unfolding now had exposed the “fake anti-BJP stand” of the Congress which had joined the TVK government after saying it would extend support only if the TVK refrained from seeking the support of the NDA.
Meanwhile, many residents, mostly brick kiln workers and their families, at Puthur village in Vellore district blocked the Cuddalore – Chittoor Highway near a bus terminus in Kaniyambadi town on Monday in protest against a local TVK functionary for reportedly demanding money to run the units. Residents said that villages such as Nelvoy, Puthur, Vallam, Athiyur, Budur, Kuppam, and Odiyathur were traditionally dotted with brick kiln units due to proximity to lakes and ponds in these areas.
Most of the families in these villages depend on these units for work. The region has had at least 300 brick kiln units for many years. “Most of the brick kilns in these villages are small-scale units. Work in these units are seasonal as silt from water bodies can be taken only during summer when water level declines. Such extortion of money by local political functionaries will affect the livelihood of brick kiln workers,” said B. Pasupathi, a brick kiln worker.
The police said the road blockade comes after T.R. Vijayakumar, secretary, Kaniyambadi Panchayat Union East, for the TVK, local functionaries Lokesh and Eshwaran and party cadre visited four brick kilns in Puthur village on May 22. These brick kilns have been run by Dinakaran, Sunil Kumar, Ramesh, and Suman for many years.
The police said the group led by Vijayakumar was reportedly demanding each brick kiln operator to pay a bribe of ₹1 lakh every month to run their units smoothly without any political interference. The police said a heated argument broke out between brick kiln operators, workers and TVK functionaries in the village. The incident which was filmed and uploaded on social media platforms invited public outrage.
The police said subsequently, brick kiln operators and TVK functionaries filed complaints separately against each other with Vellore Taluk police. A probe was under way. Against this backdrop, brick kiln workers and families blocked the key stretch at around 10 a.m. on Monday demanding action against the TVK functionaries. Traffic was affected on the route for more than an hour before police restored vehicular movement on the stretch.