A state-wide hunger strike has been called on February 22 by the DMK for the eviction of their party MLAs from the Assembly before the floor test last week. Calling it a "murder of democracy", the Opposition leader and working president MK Stalin released a statement saying the protests would be carried out in all district headquarters across the region from 9 am to 5 pm.
DMK MLAs were evicted en masse, from the state assembly before the voting on the confidence motion, last Saturday. Stalin alleged that the motion of confidence was adopted contravening assembly rules. The party appealed to Tamil Nadu governor Vidyasagar Rao to "nullify" the vote of confidence that was unanimously won by EK Palaniswami- a Sasikala loyalist. Meanwhile, demonstrations continue to be held all over the state alleging an attack on Stalin inside the assembly. A DMK worker attempted to immolate himself, while a group of cadres in Tiruvarur staged a day-long hunger strike. Several members of Makkal Marumalarchi Kazhagam tried to burn an effigy of assembly Speaker P Dhanapal, in Trichy.
In the light of the ongoing chaos, the Governor has directed assembly secretary Jamaludeen to send him a "factual report" of the "incidents" that took place in the house. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami, opposition leaders, and AIADMK party members of the O Panneerselvam camp held separate meetings with Rao at the Raj Bhavan. Palaniswami was accompanied by his cabinet colleagues including P Thangamani, SP Velumani, C Ve Shanmugam and D Jayakumar during his meeting with Rao was described as a "courtesy call." Panneerselvam apprised the Governor that he and Opposition parties had demanded secret ballot for voting on the trust motion, and urged him to not recognise the confidence motion.
The Tamil Nadu assembly turned into a battlefield on Saturday, resulting in Palaniswami winning the trust vote. In the ruckus that lasted a good five hours, DMK members stood on tables, flung chairs, tore up papers and poured water on marshals called to evict them. Also, the Speaker's table was overturned, and his mike broken. The opposition party had demanded for a secret ballot to choose the next chief minister, as it believed it would reflect the "truth". It had also demanded that the motion be taken up at a later date.
Even though the governor had given time to move the motion within 15 days, the session was convened in 48 hours. A visibly angry Stalin asked, "Why the hurry?" triggering a heated debate. However, Speaker Dhanapal paid no heed, and in the riots that ensued, his shirt was torn and he had to be escorted out by the marshals.
