In Tamil Nadu, EPS moves HC to change OPS’s seat in assembly

AIADMK leader Edapaddi Palaniswami has filed a petition in the Madras High Court, seeking a change in the seating arrangement in the assembly due to the presence of expelled leader O Panneerselvam. Palaniswami alleges that the party's appeals to the speaker have been ignored, affecting the functioning of the party. The two leaders have been involved in an ongoing feud since Palaniswami became the party's chief.

All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam(AIADMK) general secretary and Tamil Nadu leader of opposition Edapaddi Palaniswami has moved a writ petition in the Madras High Court asking for the seat of former deputy leader of opposition O Panneerselvam to be changed, arguing that the presence of an expelled leader of the party next to him affects the functioning of the party in the house. Seeking an interim injunction from the high court, Palaniswami has alleged that the party has made several appeals to speaker M Appavu that have gone unheard.

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The development is the latest in an acrimonious fallout between the two senior leaders who once sat next to each other, as recently as after the 2021 assembly elections, as the AIADMK’s leader and deputy leader of opposition respectively. But after Palaniswami rose to be the party’s chief last year, he removed OPS and two other legislators, and has since asked for the seating arrangements in the assembly to be changed. In the latest assembly session held earlier this month, the two sat next to each other, and when AIADMK legislators demanded that OPS be shifted, they were evicted from the house.

Palaniswami said that between October 2022 and March 2023, the AIADMK had taken every possible step to convey its decision to the speaker but he had acted in a biased manner but he had acted in a biased manner contrary to the oath of office.

Palaniswami said that the principal party in opposition was unable to function freely because those representing his party were seated away from him. “On the other hand, the expelled members of the AIADMK Party are continuing to occupy the seats next to the Leader of the AIADMK Legislature Party and are unnecessarily interfering with the discussions that are privy only to the AIADMK Legislature Party,” he said.