The move to have 19 dissident AIADMK Members of Legislative Assembly (MLA) disqualified is among the handful of occasions the State has seen such a development ever since the Anti-Defection law came into force in 1985.
The last occasion when a legislator experienced disqualification was in June 2000. At that time, M. Muthuramalingam, who won from Thirumangalam in 1996 elections on a Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam ticket, had joined the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK).
During 2011-16, he represented the same constituency as a member of the AIADMK.
In April 1995, G. Viswanathan and Alagu Thirunavukkarasu, who were Ministers briefly during Jayalalithaa’s first-term as Chief Minister (1991-96), were disqualified for having joined the Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK), after having been expelled by the AIADMK in January 1994. Mr. Viswanathan took the matter to the Supreme Court which, in January 1996, upheld the disqualification.
The most famous instance of disqualification was in January 1988 when P.H. Pandian, the then Assembly Speaker, had disqualified 33 MLAs when the Janaki Ramachandran Ministry, amid pandemonium, sought a vote of confidence in the House. While six members including V.R. Nedunchezhiyan, ‘Panruti’ S. Ramachandran, S. Thirunavukkarasar (then known Thirunavukkarasu) and K.K.S.S.R. Ramachandran were disqualified for having “voluntarily given up” membership of the AIADMK, 27 others faced the axe for “being absent” at the time of voting.
Single-party majority
Long time observers of the Tamil Nadu Assembly say that issuing a whip has also been rare. The main reason is that the State typically gives one party or an alliance a clear majority.
Durai Murugan, who has been an MLA since 1971, says whips are issued ordinarily at the time of adoption of no confidence or vote of confidence motions and the passage of money bills.
A source recalls that whips by the ruling party were issued on February 18 when Edappadi K. Palaniswami sought a vote of confidence of the House and a no confidence motion was taken up against Speaker P. Dhanapal.
In June and July, when demands for grants of various departments were taken up, the ruling party issued whips to ensure the presence of its members in the House.
So far, Tamil Nadu has witnessed the defeat of no confidence motions on 12 occasions and the adoption of vote of confidence motion four times.
