Monday’s order of the Tamil Nadu Assembly Speaker P Dhanapal disqualifying 18 AIADMK MLAs who on 22 August submitted individual letters to Acting Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao withdrawing support to Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami is indefensible.

Article 102 (2) of the Constitution says a person will be disqualified from membership of either House of the legislature if he is disqualified under the Tenth Schedule, if he has given up membership of the political party or if he votes or abstains from voting against the direction issued by the party. The disqualified MLAs do not fall into any of these categories.

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The Speaker held that the MLAs’ letter to the Governor was tantamount to giving up membership of the AIADMK. According to the anti-defection law, a member can be disqualified if he violates a whip or gives up voluntarily membership of the party. Rule 6 (5) of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly (disqualification on the ground of defection), 1986, stipulates the ruling party furnish documentary evidence to prove the MLAs have left the party.

The disqualified MLAs constitute the only group to continue in the AIADMK which was voted to power in 2016. After the death of J Jayalalitha, general secretary of the AIADMK and Chief Minister in December 2016, the party split into three groups: one led by O Panneerselvem under the legend AIADMK (Puratchi Thalaivi Amma), another led by Palaniswami under the banner AIADMK (Amma) and the third, led by TTV Dinakaran, deputy general secretary, of the AIADMK.

The first two groups merged under the banner AIADMK (Amma Puratchi Thalaivi). Which of the two is the real AIADMK is a dispute pending before the Election Commission of India. When Vidyasagar Rao administered the oath of office to the minority AIADMK (APT) government with Palaniswami as Chief Minister and Panneerselvam as Deputy Chief Minister on 21 August, he should have asked the new government to seek a vote of confidence which he failed to do.

Since then there has been persistent demand from the ADMK and the opposition parties for the AIADMK (APT) government to prove its majority on the floor of the Assembly. The Assembly has been kept in ‘suspended animation’ and Palaniswami continues to rule merrily under the benign protection of the Centre, claiming Jayalalitha is the permanent Chief Minister and that he is only her regent.

On 12 September the general council of the AIADMK (APT) resolved that none in the party was worthy to become its general secretary and ‘elected’ posthumously Jayalalitha as its permanent general secretary.

When Speaker Dhanapal was announcing in Chennai the disqualification of the 18 MLAs of the AIADMK founded by MG Ramachandran and built by Jayalalitha, Palaniswami declared in Salem Jayalalitha would remain the permanent Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, invoking derisive laughter.