TN: AIADMK alleges ‘horse-trading’ by TVK govt

Chennai: The political confrontation between the ruling TVK government and the opposition AIADMK intensified on Tuesday, with the AIADMK accusing the government of actively encouraging political defections and engaging in what it described as “horse-trading” to strengthen its position in the Assembly.

Speaking to reporters after meeting Assembly Speaker J.C.D. Prabhakar at the Secretariat, AIADMK MLA Agri Krishnamurthy, representing the faction led by party General Secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami (EPS), raised concerns over recent political developments involving AIADMK legislators and questioned the handling of disqualification proceedings.

Krishnamurthy said the party leadership had issued clear instructions to all AIADMK MLAs to vote against the TVK government during the confidence motion in the Assembly.

However, according to him, 25 party legislators defied the directive and voted in support of the ruling dispensation.

Following the vote, the AIADMK submitted a petition to the Speaker seeking action against the legislators under the anti-defection law.

Krishnamurthy said the Speaker informed the party that the petition was still under examination and that no final decision had yet been taken.

The AIADMK leader also questioned the acceptance of resignations submitted by three MLAs while disqualification proceedings were still pending.

He argued that the party had specifically requested the Speaker not to process those resignations until the anti-defection petition had been resolved.

According to Krishnamurthy, accepting resignations under such circumstances raises serious procedural and democratic concerns.

He alleged that the move was inconsistent with Assembly norms and could create an unhealthy political precedent.

Escalating his criticism of the ruling party, Krishnamurthy questioned whether the Secretariat was functioning as the state’s administrative headquarters or as an extension of the TVK party office.

Using sharp language to attack the government, he alleged that “horse-trading is being carried out at horse speed”, and claimed that some legislators who resigned were issued TVK identity cards within minutes.

He further warned that encouraging elected representatives to resign and shift political allegiance could trigger wider instability and accelerate defections in Tamil Nadu politics.

IANS