
The confidence motion moved by chief minister Edappadi Palaniswamy culminated in ruckus in the Tamil Nadu Assembly on Saturday, with DMK MLAs manhandling Speaker P Dhanapal, upturning furniture in the House and shredding papers. The faction led by former chief minister O Panneerselvam had asked for a secret ballot but did not indulge in any violence. It was the DMK MLAs, pivotal to the drama, who were demanding that the trust vote be postponed and a secret ballot method be implemented. The Speaker, following a short recess, ordered police to evict the DMK MLAs.
Watch the drama:
“You (DMK MLAs) tore my shirt and insulted me. I am doing my work abiding law,” Speaker Dhanapal said. The evicted MLAs are sitting on dharna inside the Assembly premises. The House has been adjourned till 3 pm.
The Assembly had convened today in a special session for a confidence motion moved by Chief Minister E Palaniswamy to prove majority of the House. In line with Governor Vidyasagar Rao’s 15-day grace period to garner support, opposition members including former chief minister O Panneerselvam, requested a delay in the proceedings. In the 234-member House, Palaniswamy needs at least 117 votes to win the floor test.
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