After a tumultuous couple
of weeks, Tamil Nadu witnessed what could be the climax of the ongoing
political drama on Saturday amid chaos and ruckus at the Assembly – with the
breaking of tables and chairs in the House and ministers assaulting one
another. Amid the heightened power tussle, Chief Minister E Palaniswami won the
floor test with the support of 122 MLAs.
The rule is simple ! – it the vote of those members present and voting
that counts and not those of members of Legislative Assembly and that way when
the opposition walks out or is sent out, rest becomes meaningless. Although the media was denied access to the
proceedings in the Assembly, visuals of the chaos were later telecast on
television channels.
The uproar in the Assembly was mainly due to opposition
parties like the DMK and the Congress demanding that the vote be postponed
after their request for a secret ballot was rejected by the Speaker. The
situation went out of control and the session was adjourned for couple of times
and was escorted out by marshals. Meanwhile, MK Stalin alleged that he was
manhandled as he spoke to the media wearing a torn shirt outside the Assembly.
To launch his protest he then went onto met the Governor and later proceeded to
Marina beach and started a hunger strike.
The speaker too claimed that he was manhandled and humiliated.
The floor test in the Assembly
was happening in the state in about 30 years, and many could
not stop themselves from experiencing a deja vu. Defending his decision in the
Assembly on Saturday, Speaker P. Dhanapal asserted that there was no provision
in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly Rules to allow secret voting on a motion
of confidence. He rejected pleas for
secret voting by the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, the rebel group of the
All-India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam.
Elsewhere, elections are on
in the big state of Uttar Pradesh. As UP
goes to polls in the third phase of the crucial assembly elections, it will be
for the fifth consecutive time that this VIP voter of Lucknow -voter no. 141,
will not be casting his vote. It is none
other than former Prime Minister and Bharat Ratna Atal Bihari Vajpayee, whose
name has become synonymous to Lucknow for the past three decades.
He is ill and not in a position
to cast vote. A popular face in all the
classes and the masses of the city of Nawabs, Vajpayee cast his last vote
during Lok Sabha elections in 2004, the year which also marked his last year of
tenure as the constituency's MP, also the last position he held in his
political career. After this, he passed on his legacy to Lalji Tandon in 2009,
also known as a protege of the leader. With
the voter ID card of No. GF0929877, he did not cast his vote in the Lok Sabha
and Vidhan Sabha elections in 2007.
A five-time MP from the
Lucknow seat, Vajpayee won five consecutive elections and made his debut in
1991. He won the 1996, 1998, 1999 and 2004 elections consecutively. He retired
from active politics in 2004 due to health issues. According to sources close
to him, the celebrated leader is now suffering from dementia and long-term
diabetes. They further say that he is often confined to a wheel chair and hardly
recognises people.
People cutting across
partylines regard him as one
of the most vibrant orators.
With regards – S.
Sampathkumar
19th Feb 2017
Biblio :> the part on UP excerpted from MailOnline. TN photo credits Indian Express.
