Tamil Nadu Assembly to meet on 28 June, likely to take up DMK's plea seeking removal of Speaker

Chennai: Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit on Thursday summoned the state Assembly to meet on 28 June, the first time after the bypolls to 22 seats in which both the ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) and Opposition Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) increased their numbers. [caption id=“attachment_4265229” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Tamil Nadu Assembly Speaker P Dhanapal. Twitter @PDhanapalofficial[/caption] The House is likely to take up the DMK’s plea for Speaker P Dhanapal’s removal, after he issued notices to three pro-Dhinakaran AIADMK MLAs for alleged anti-party activities on 30 April. According to a notification issued by the governor, the Legislative Assembly will meet at 10 am on Friday in the Assembly chamber at the state Secretariat. An obituary reference to deceased DMK MLA from the Vikravandi constituency in Villupuram, K Rathamani is expected to be made on the opening day of the session, the duration of which will be decided later by the Business Advisory Council. The House meets at a time when the state is reeling under a severe water crisis, prompting the DMK-led opposition to mount criticism against the K Palaniswami-led AIADMK government over its handling of the issue. The government, on its part, has maintained that it is taking all steps to ensure an adequate supply of drinking water. However, all eyes will be on the DMK’s notice against the speaker, which is likely to be taken up for consideration in the ensuing session. The MK Stalin-led opposition party moved the notice against the speaker after he served notices on three AIADMK MLAs siding with rival leader and Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK) founder TTV Dhinakaran for alleged anti-party activities. The DMK had slammed the speaker for issuing notices to them and submitted a resolution seeking his removal from the post to Assembly Secretary K Srinivasan the same day. The resolution was submitted in accordance with Article 179(c) of the Constitution and Tamil Nadu Assembly Rule 68, both of which govern the procedure for removal of speaker. The session will be the first after the two-phased bypolls to 22 Assembly seats held in April and May, in which both the AIADMK and the DMK bettered their numbers. The ruling AIADMK won nine of the 22 seats, taking its tally to 123 in the Assembly including the speaker, while the DMK had 101 members after it romped home in the remaining 13 segments. However, the DMK’s strength has now reduced by one to 100, following the demise of Rathamani last week. Congress legislator H Vasantha Kumar has resigned following his election to the Lok Sabha, resulting in the party’s strength coming down to seven from eight in the Assembly. During the upcoming session, the House is expected to debate on the grants for various departments, besides discussing other matters of importance, including the Cauvery and hydrocarbon extraction issues.