Tamil Nadu's opposition AIADMK, still trying to recuperate from the defeat in the recently held assembly polls and the subsequent vertical split over support to Vijay's TVK for government formation, has suffered another setback. Three MLAs of the AIADMK resigned today and joined Vijay's Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam.
Aragatham Kumaravel, Jayakumar and Sathyabhama were said to be from the camp of SP Velumani.
The MLAs met Tamil Nadu minister Aadhav Arjuna, who is also a key aide of Vijay, sources said. Accompanied by Arjuna, the MLAs then went to meet the Speaker and handed their resignation, which got accepted.
The AIADMK has called it horse-trading, pointing out that the MLAs were joined by Aadhav Arjuna before they had even submitted their resignations. "This is a planned move," the party said.
The DMK's organising scretary RS Bharathi said, "hyaram diyaram has started in Tamil Nadu" .
The demand to join hands with Vijay was the issue over which a section of party MLAs fell out with party chief and former Chief Minister E Palaniswami.
Velumani and their supporters had wanted to back Vijay during the trust vote, but Palaniswami had disagreed. Finally, 24 rebels had backed Vijay during the vote. The AIADMK had filed a complaint with the Speaker under the Anti-Defection law. The Speaker is yet to give his ruling on the disqualification plea.
The Speaker JCD Prabhakar today justified his decision. He said "The resignation letters are in order and they presented these in order".
On his delay in orders over action under anti-defection law against AIADMK rebels , he said: "Both sides claim they have the Whip and I would take time to give my ruling and whenever I do everyone will know it's fair".
There is also criticism that the resigned AIADMK MLAs met Aadhav and Vijay at the secretariat, using the government office for political purposes. The TVK is yet to respond.
Excluding the Speaker, the TVK has only 107 MLAs and requires 11 more for a majority.
Currently, three of its allies -- the Congress, VCK and the IUML --account for nine and it requires two more.
Though DMK allies CPI and CPM support from outside with 4 MLAs, TVK, it appears, is trying to muster a majority through this exercise so that there will not be dependence on non-allies.
