Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam chief TTV Dhinakaran on Wednesday announced that the 18 Tamil Nadu legislators whose disqualification was upheld by the Madras High Court last week will not appeal against the verdict, The New Indian Express reported.
They will instead contest bye-elections and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam will not be able to win any seat even if they bribe voters with lakhs of rupees, he was quoted as saying by Thanthi TV.
Last week, Thanga Tamil Selvan, one of the rebel AIADMK MLAs, had said they will move the Supreme Court against the order within 30 to 90 days. Selvan had told reporters in Madurai that the group’s lawyer had pointed out several flaws in the High Court order. He said the decision to appeal against the verdict was “unanimous” and accepted with “joy” by all the 18 MLAs.
The Madras High Court had on Thursday upheld Speaker P Dhanapal’s decision to disqualify the legislators after they sided with ousted party leader TTV Dhinakaran in September 2017…. With the court’s verdict, there is no current threat to the government led by Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami any more. The government could have collapsed had the court reinstated the MLAs.
Palaniswami and Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam on Saturday extended an olive branch to the rebel legislators an olive branch to the rebel legislators. “We invite you with love and affection to again join the massive people’s movement nurtured by Puratchi Thalaivar MGR and Puratchi Thalaivi Amma,” they said in a statement. Palaniswami is the chief minister of Tamil Nadu, while Panneerselvam is his deputy. They also asked cadres to “understand the reality” of the Madras High Court judgement.
On Monday, the AIADMK asked the 18 former legislators to “kneel” and “apologise” at the memorial of late Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa before returning to the party. The party mouthpiece Namathu Amma credited the MLAs’ victory in the 2016 Assembly elections to Jayalalithaa and asked them to “deeply repent” their action of having sided with Dhinakaran.
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