Trust vote: DMK to move no-confidence motion against Tamil Nadu Assembly Speaker P Dhanapal

Chennai: In more trouble for Sasikala loyalist Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami, principle opposition party Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) on Tuesday announced its decision to move a no-confidence motion against Assembly Speaker P Dhanapal.

Earlier, DMK MLAs had met Assembly Secretary Jamaluddin and handed over the petition against the Speaker.

Speaking to reporters here, DMK's working president MK Stalin said a letter to this effect was given to the Assembly Secretary.

The DMK's decision to move the court comes after Stalin urged the Governor to nullify the assembly proceedings of Saturday when Palaniswami won the confidence vote amid bedlam.

Stalin, the leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, told Governor C Vidyasagar Rao that the motion of confidence moved by Palaniswami was adopted in the absence of the entire opposition.

DMK has 89 MLAs in the 234-member Tamil Nadu Assembly.

On Saturday, amidst chaotic scenes involving DMK which eventually led to eviction of its members enmasse, the Palaniswami government won the trust vote by the huge margin.

The 11 votes were cast by rebel AIADMK leader and former chief minister O Panneerselvam and his supporters.

DMK and Panneerselvam camp had pressed for a secret ballot on the motion of confidence, but it was rejected by the Speaker.

The DMK on Monday approached the Madras High Court with a request to hear the issue of trust vote won by Tamil Nadu CM two days ago.