Disqualification proceedings: Edappadi Palaniswami, ex-AIADMK MLAs asked to appear before speaker on July 30

Tamil Nadu Assembly Speaker JCD Prabhakar. | Photo credit: B. Jothi Ramalingam

Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly Speaker JCD Prabhakar has asked AIADMK General Secretary and party leader Edappadi K. Palaniswami and four former AIADMK MLAs facing disqualification proceedings under the provisions of the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution to appear before him on 30 July 2026 for further clarification.

In a letter from the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly Secretariat to Mr. Palaniswami, Assembly Secretary R. Santhi said the Speaker called four former AIADMK MLAs — Maragatham Kumaravel (Maduranthagam), P. Sathyabama (Dharapuram), S. Jeyakumar (Perundurai) and Esamakki Subaya (appearing before him individually) in the morning and 12.30 pm, allotting 30 minutes each. July 30th. During the same time, the Chairman also asked Mr. Palaniswami to be present before him for further explanation.

This was in line with a disqualification petition presented to the Speaker by Mr. Palaniswami on May 13 after 25 rebel AIADMK MLAs voted in favor of Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK)-led government during a trust vote in the Assembly. Later, Mr. Palaniswami tolerated 21 of the 25 MLAs, while the above four members resigned from the assembly and joined the TVK.

During the inquiry into the petition filed by Mr. Palaniswami, the four former MLAs appeared before the speaker separately on two occasions and gave oral and written explanations of their conduct during the trust vote in which they “defied” the party whip. Following this, the speaker sought some clarifications from Mr. Palaniswami. AIADMK leaders on behalf of Mr. Palaniswami recently submitted their explanation to the Speaker.

In this regard, the spokesperson invited both parties to appear before him as he seeks further clarification on the matter based on the explanations he received from them earlier.

Published – 26 Jul 2026 14:50 IST