Saris add woes to shaky CM Palaniswami govt in Tamil Nadu

Eight arrested for sending saris to Tamil Nadu CM Edappadi K Palaniswami and Speaker P Dhanapal.

Chennai, Sep 21: The Indian national attire for women, sari, is causing a lot of trouble to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami, literally.

The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) leader and his colleague and TN Assembly Speaker P Dhanapal received several saris from allegedly eight persons as a mark of protest against the non-convening of the Assembly to prove the majority of the government.

Now, the TN police have arrested the eight persons, say reports. Cases would be registered against them for "insulting" the CM and the Speaker, a police official said.

The ruling AIADMK government in the state is facing a lot of trouble as rebel leader TTV Dhinakaran is vying for supremacy within the party. Thus the chairs of CM Palaniswami and his deputy, O Panneerselvam, look pretty shaky currently.

On Wednesday, the Madras High Court said a floor test shouldn't be conducted in the TN Assembly until it issues further orders, and that fresh elections can't be held for the seats of 18 MLAs disqualified by Speaker Dhanapal.

On Monday, 18 rebel AIADMK MLAs supporting Dhinakaran were disqualified by Assembly Speaker Dhanapal.

The action against the 18 MLAs, who had revolted against Palaniswami last month, was taken under anti-defection and disqualification rules of 1986, said a statement from Assembly Secretary K Bhoopathy. It said the rules were in accordance with the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution.

"With the Honourable Speaker ordering for the disqualification of MLAs from September 18, 2017, they have lost their membership," of the House, the statement said.

According to a leader close to Dhinakaran, the action against the 18 MLAs were taken to ensure the government's survival in a possible floor test since Palaniswami did not have the required 117 MLAs' support in the 234-member House.

OneIndia News