19 legislators of Tamil Nadu's ruling AIADMK met the state's Governor this morning. They have called the merger on Monday Aug 21,2017 between the two factions led by Chief Minister E Palaniswami and O
Panneerselvam illegal and are opposed to the decision to throw out party
chief VK Sasikala, who is in jail. Led by Ms Sasikala's nephew TTV
Dinakaran, who she had appointed as the AIADMK's number 2, these
legislators want the chief minister sacked.
The pro-Sasikala MLAs said they have requested the Governor to ensure that Mr Palaniswami is removed, alleging that he did not consult TTV Dhinakaran before merging his faction with that of Mr Panneerselvam or OPS, which had voted against his government in a trust vote six months ago.
Soon after their meeting, senior leader of the AIADMK and member of Parliament V Maitrayan too met Governor CH Vidyasagar Rao. He described it as a "courtesy call."
After yesterday's merger, the AIADMK has 134 legislators in the 234-member assembly. That is only 17 more than the 117 needed for a majority. With 19 MLAs rebelling, Chief Minister Palaniswami could be in trouble if he has to face a no-confidence motion.
TTV Dhinakaran, who is not an MLA, did not accompany the rebel legislators to meet the Governor. In a series of tweets last night he vowed to "weed out betrayers" seen to refer to E Palaniswami, or EPS, whose accession to the top post was arranged in February this year by Ms Sasikala before she left Chennai for the Bengaluru prison where she is lodged in a corruption case. She had also appointed her nephew as her deputy in the party then.
The AIADMK had split weeks after the death of its powerful chief J Jayalalithaa, who died as chief minister in December last year. The two factions had been working on the merger for months and finally came together yesterday, with EPS and OPS shaking hands and making a joint announcement. The expulsion of Ms Sasikala was a key demand of the OPS camp.
Under the merger agreement, OPS, who was forced by Ms Sasikala to step down as chief minister in February this year, has settled for the role of deputy to EPS the man who worked under him as a minister months ago.
The pro-Sasikala MLAs said they have requested the Governor to ensure that Mr Palaniswami is removed, alleging that he did not consult TTV Dhinakaran before merging his faction with that of Mr Panneerselvam or OPS, which had voted against his government in a trust vote six months ago.
Soon after their meeting, senior leader of the AIADMK and member of Parliament V Maitrayan too met Governor CH Vidyasagar Rao. He described it as a "courtesy call."
After yesterday's merger, the AIADMK has 134 legislators in the 234-member assembly. That is only 17 more than the 117 needed for a majority. With 19 MLAs rebelling, Chief Minister Palaniswami could be in trouble if he has to face a no-confidence motion.
TTV Dhinakaran, who is not an MLA, did not accompany the rebel legislators to meet the Governor. In a series of tweets last night he vowed to "weed out betrayers" seen to refer to E Palaniswami, or EPS, whose accession to the top post was arranged in February this year by Ms Sasikala before she left Chennai for the Bengaluru prison where she is lodged in a corruption case. She had also appointed her nephew as her deputy in the party then.
The AIADMK had split weeks after the death of its powerful chief J Jayalalithaa, who died as chief minister in December last year. The two factions had been working on the merger for months and finally came together yesterday, with EPS and OPS shaking hands and making a joint announcement. The expulsion of Ms Sasikala was a key demand of the OPS camp.
Under the merger agreement, OPS, who was forced by Ms Sasikala to step down as chief minister in February this year, has settled for the role of deputy to EPS the man who worked under him as a minister months ago.
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