Stalin meets President, seeks fresh trust vote

Points to precedents for secret ballot

DMK working president M.K. Stalin met President Pranab Mukherjee at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Thursday to seek a fresh trust vote in the Tamil Nadu Assembly under a secret ballot voting procedure.

“We explained the events that unfolded on the day of the vote to the President. We brought to his attention how police officers were brought into the Assembly and how we were thrown out, and also highlighted the Speaker’s illegal actions,” Mr. Stalin told reporters after meeting the President.

Secret ballot

Pointing out that secret ballots have been used in places like Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand in the past, he said, “There is precedent for a secret ballot. We have sought a secret ballot during a trust vote.”

He compared the recent trust vote in the Assembly to “winning a match on an empty playground”.

The DMK leader said that the President had assured him that he would look into the matter and take appropriate steps.

‘Release footage’

“If the Tamil Nadu government releases the entire footage of the Assembly proceedings during the recently held trust vote, it would bring out the truth, which is that DMK MLAs were attacked on the floor of the House,” he claimed.