Knowing very well that it will be defeated on the floor of the House, DMK President M K Stalin on Friday said the party has decided to withdraw the no-confidence motion filed against Speaker P Dhanapal due to “change in circumstances.”
The DMK had in April filed a no-confidence motion against Dhanapal after he issued show cause notices to three AIADMK MLAs seeking an explanation on why they can’t be disqualified due to “anti-party activities.” The DMK and the legislators had opposed the move since they perceived it as a move to reduce the majority of the 234-member Assembly.
The ruling AIADMK won 9 out of the 22 seats that went to by-polls taking its strength in the Assembly to 123, including Speaker. The Opposition DMK has 100 members and its allies 8, while two seats remain vacant.
With circumstances changing drastically and realising well that the motion may not succeed, DMK submitted a letter withdrawing the motion against Dhanapal as the Tamil Nadu Assembly reconvened for a budget session on Friday.
“We have decided not to push for the motion. There was a need for such a resolution when we filed. But the situation has altered now and hence there is no need for the motion. We have communicated the same to the Speaker,” Stalin told reporters inside the Secretariat complex.
Tamil Nadu Assembly was to take up on July 1 the no-confidence motion moved against Dhanapal by DMK. The move by DMK is a complete volte-face as Stalin had referred to the motion even two days back putting the government on notice.
DMK had moved the resolution on April 30 against the Speaker, after he served notices to three pro-Dhinakaran AIADMK MLAs for alleged anti-party activities earlier that day. This is the second time that the DMK has moved a no-confidence motion against Dhanapal in the past three years – its resolution moved in 2017 was defeated. However, the notices were struck down by the Supreme Court.