Chennai: A petition has been submitted on behalf of the AIADMK to Governor Arlekar, urging action against Minister Sengottaiyan, who has been engaging in horse-trading to lure AIADMK MLAs to the TVK side.
A team led by Agri Krishnamurthy, one of the senior leaders of the AIADMK, met the Governor today (Oct. 15) and submitted the petition.
Later, speaking to reporters, Agri Krishnamurthy said, “On behalf of the AIADMK, we felicitated Governor Arlekar, who has taken charge as the full-time Governor of Tamil Nadu, by draping him with a silk shawl and presenting him with a bouquet of flowers and conveyed our greetings. We also handed over to the Governor the petition sent by the AIADMK general secretary.
In that petition, this TVK government had already struck deals worth several crores of rupees with 6 AIADMK MLAs, bought them, made them resign, and brought about a by-election in Tamil Nadu.
To retain and sustain its rule, this government has been acting in violation of the rules. One of the senior ministers in this government has issued a statement saying that 15 MLAs will soon leave AIADMK and join TVK. His very statement stands as proof that horse-trading is taking place in Tamil Nadu.
We have given the Governor the interview and the statement issued by that minister. A petition has been submitted to the Governor insisting that action should be taken against this government, which is conducting horse-trading, and against these ministers who are engaged in negotiations for it,” he said.
You had already filed a complaint regarding the MLAs’ resignations, yet no action was taken. Now you have submitted it again,” Agri Krishnamurthy said in response to a reporter’s question. “When the case is in court, we have already submitted petitions to the Governor and the Tamil Nadu Chief Electoral Officer, asking that action be taken under the anti-defection law against those who resigned. However, no action has been taken so far.
Therefore, today we met the Governor again and submitted a petition on behalf of AIADMK General Secretary Edappadi Palaniswami. We have requested that, as the full-time Governor of Tamil Nadu, you should take action on both the earlier petition and today’s petition. The Governor has assured us that appropriate action will be taken.
Wherever there is an opportunity for action, we are submitting petitions on behalf of the AIADMK and on behalf of Edappadi Palaniswami. We will continue to fight for this until action is taken,” he said.
Responding to the question of whether action would be taken if there is a delay in taking action, Agri Krishnamurthy said, “Certainly. Based on the case already filed in the High Court on behalf of the AIADMK, the High Court has ordered the Speaker to take action against the MLAs who resigned from their posts within two months.”
In response to the question about C.V. Shanmugam, S.P. Velumani, and others holding separate consultations, “The AIADMK is functioning in a disciplined manner under the leadership of Edappadi Palaniswami. There is no problem in this. A few people are expressing their views in public. If they convey their views to Edappadi Palaniswami by meeting him, he will certainly take action on them. He is determined to take everyone along. He will convene the AIADMK general council at the appropriate time.
Edappadi Palaniswami is ready to make any sacrifice to protect the movement. He is working intensely to bring Jayalalithaa’s rule back to Tamil Nadu.
It is realistic that the ruling party will win the by-election. In 2019, the AIADMK won the Vikravandi constituency by-election by a margin of 40,000 votes. Now, in the Madurantakam and Dharapuram by-elections, the TVK has won by only a margin of 10,000 votes. This victory that Chief Minister Vijay has secured is not a big victory. It is only a temporary victory.
The by-election victory is a victory for money power. Money was distributed through tiffin boxes. In both constituencies, the AIADMK received more votes. Therefore, this is not a bad defeat. The AIADMK’s vote bank is strong,” said Agri Krishnamurthy.
