Chennai: Tamil Nadu Assembly Speaker P Dhanapal on Monday disqualified 18 AIADMK MLAs owing allegiance to 'removed' party leader TTV Dhinakaran.
The action against the MLAs was taken under anti-defection and disqualification rules of 1986 formed in accordance with the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution.
These legislators, besides another, had on August 22 met the Tamil Nadu Governor Ch Vidyasagar and conveyed that they had lost confidence in Chief Minister K Palaniswami, who is facing a challenge from Dhinakaran.
A resolution adopted at a meeting chaired by Palaniswami on August 28 had said Dhinakaran was 'removed' from the post of deputy general secretary.
Opposition parties have since been insisting the Governor direct a floor test for the Palaniswami government for proving its majority in the Assembly.
In the 234-member House, AIADMK has a strength of 134 MLAs.
The RK Nagar seat fell vacant last year following the death of the then Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa.
The Opposition has a strength of 98 including DMK's 89. Congress 8 and IUML one.
One of the dissident MLAs, SKT Jakkaiyan, had later switched camps to support Palaniswami.
The disqualified MLAs are:
- Thanga Tamilselvan (Andipatti)
- R Murugan (Harur)
- Cho Mariappan Kennedy (Manamadurai)
- Dr K Kathikamu (Periyakulam)
- C Jayanthi Padmanabhan (Gudiyattam)
- P Palaniappan (Pappireddipatti)
- V Senthil Balaji (Aravakurichi)
- Dr S Muthiah (Paramakudi)
- P Vetrivel (Perambur)
- NG Parthiban (Sholingar)
- M Kothandapani (Thiruporur)
- TA Elumalai (Poonamallee)
- M Rengasamy (Thanjavur)
- R Thangadurai (Nilakottai)
- R Balasubramani (Ambur)
- 'Ethirkottai' SG Subramanian (Sattur)
- R Sundararaj (Ottapidaram)
- K Uma Maheshwari (Vilathikulam)
(With PTI inputs)
