Party will have to decide on taking back 18 disqualified MLAs: Tamil Nadu Minister

A day after the Madras High Court gave a split verdict on disqualification of 18 AIADMK MLAs, senior leader and Tamil Nadu Minister D Jayakumar today said it was for the party to take a decision on accepting them back.

He, however, asserted that sidelined leader T T V Dhinakaran and his aides would not be admitted into the party.

“Only the party has to take a decision on that. But in no case, Dhinakaran or his aides will be accepted,” Jayakumar told reporters here.

He was replying to a question whether the 18 disqualified MLAs loyal to Dhinkaran would be accepted into the party.

There have been reports in a section of local media claiming that some of the supporters of Dhinakaran, who has recently formed his own party AMMK, were keen to come back to the AIADMK.

The high court yesterday gave the split verdict with Chief Justice Indira Banerjee upholding the Assembly Speaker’s order disqualifying the 18 MLAs loyal to Dhinakaran and Justice M Sundar setting it aside.

In view of the differing judgements, a third will now hear the matter afresh.

Jayakumar said the Chief Justice’s verdict should be seriously looked at, because it conveys three key things.

“One, the speaker did not have vested interest, he has powers to do what he has done, and his decision should not be subjected to review,” he said.

“Whatever it is, betrayals have never won in history, they have always lost,” he added.

The MLAs were disqualified in September last year after they met the state Governor and expressed lack of confidence in Chief Minister K Palaniswami.

On Dhinakaran’s remarks that the verdict was an “extension to anti-people government”, Jayakumar said, “First they have to understand the way the government was formed. It is (due to) the hardwork of “Amma” (late Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa).”