Nullify TN assembly proceedings on Saturday: Stalin to Governor

Chennai, Feb 19 (IANS) DMK Working President M.K. Stalin on Sunday urged the Tamil Nadu Governor to nullify the proceedings in the assembly on Saturday in which Chief Minister Edapaddi K. Palaniswami won the confidence vote.

Stalin, who is also the Leader of the Opposition in the assembly, in his representation to Governor C. Vidayasagar Rao said the motion of confidence moved by Chief Minister Palaniswami was adopted in the absence of the entire opposition on Saturday.

Stalin requested Rao to invoke his Constitutional powers "to nullify the entire proceedings with a view to protect the spirit of democracy and the Constitution".

Stalin said extraordinary police presence was mobilised, giving an impression of a "war-like situation" around the assembly complex and a "thick atmosphere of terror" was prevailing.

According to Stalin, the AIADMK legislators belonging to the V.K. Sasikala camp who were kept as hostages for some days in a beach resort were brought to the assembly "under tight security and they appeared to be under constant threat".

Stalin said the Speaker of the house P. Dhanapal did not respond to his request for a secret ballot on the confidence motion.

According to the DMK leader, the party legislators had no other way to register their protest and resorted to peaceful sit-in inside the house.

"The Speaker ordered expulsion of all the members of the DMK, without following the procedure laid down. The police entered into the house presumably on instructions given in advance by the Speaker.

"The police and the assembly guards forcibly evicted us from the house and in this process, many of us sustained bleeding injuries. The other opposition parties staged a walk-out, strongly protesting against the action of the Speaker," Stalin told Rao.

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