Thanga Tamilselvan, one of the disqualified legislator, has announced his decision to withdraw his petition challenging the Speaker's order disqualifying him as he doesn't want his constituency voters to suffer.
Days after the Madras High Court delivered a split verdict on a batch of petitions challenging the disqualification of the 18 rebel AIADMK MLAs owing allegiance to TTV Dhinakaran, Thanga Tamilselvan, one of the disqualified legislator, has announced his decision to withdraw his petition challenging the Speaker's order disqualifying him as he doesn't want his constituency voters to suffer because of the inordinate delay in the court case.
Thamilselvan, a staunch loyalist of former chief minister J Jayalalithaa’s close aide VK Sasikala and her nephew and Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam leader TTV Dhinakaran, has decided to withdraw the petition to seek fresh mandate from voters of his prestigious Andipatti Assembly Constituency even as the 17 other disqualified legislators preferred to fight it out in the court.
“I have lost trust in the courts. Already the people of 18 assembly seats are suffering without an MLA for nine months. I have no idea when the third judge would be appointed to hear our petitions again and when he will deliver the judgement. If the case is dragged for two years, my tenure of the MLA itself will come to an end. Then what is the point in fighting the court case?” he said.
He said that if he withdraws the petition, the Speaker’s decision would come into effect and the Election Commission would declare the seat as vacant and contest the bypoll. “I was elected thrice from the Andipatti seat. I am confident of emerging victorious as the voters know about me well,” he said.
Andipatti constituency is a stronghold of AIADMK. The prestigious seat which has returned AIADMK candidates to the Assembly since 1977 except in 1989 and 1996, was represented by two chief ministers – M G Ramachandran (1984) and J Jayalalithaa (2002 and 2006).
AMMK leader Dhinakaran said that he did not see anything wrong in the decision of Thanga Tamilselvan to withdraw his petition even though it was his personal decision. “When the Madras HC delivered its split verdict, Tamilselvan told his decision to withdraw the petition to face the election and sought the opinion of other disqualified MLAs as well. Others have decided to fight it out in the court,” he said. He said that the bypoll would be a political challenge for the Edappadi K Palanswami government.
“I had won from the RK Nagar assembly seat which was represented by Amma (Jayalalithaa). If he (Thanga Tamilselvan) could win from Andipatti which was represented by MGR and Amma contesting from the Cooker symbol allotted to us, we can show the betrayers (AIADMK government) that we are true inheritors of two leaves symbol,” he told reporters here.
Senior AIADMK leader and Fisheries Minister D Jayakumar dismissed the disqualified MLA Thanga Tamilselvan decision to withdraw the petition and contest in the bypoll as Dhinakaran’s attempt to test water (to know the people’s mood).
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
 "Madras High Court")
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}