Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly Speaker J.C.D. Prabhakar has asked AIADMK general secretary and party floor leader Edappadi K. Palaniswami, along with four former AIADMK MLAs facing disqualification proceedings, to appear before him on July 30, 2026, for further clarifications.
The four former MLAs, Maragatham Kumaravel, P. Sathyabama, S. Jeyakumar, and Esakki Subaya, have been called to appear individually between 11 a.m. and 12.30 p.m. on July 30, with each allotted 30 minutes. Mr. Palaniswami has also been asked to be present during the same time for further clarifications.
This development is pursuant to the disqualification petition submitted to the Speaker by Mr. Palaniswami on May 13, after 25 rebel AIADMK MLAs voted in favor of the Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay-led Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) government during the vote of confidence in the Assembly. Later, Mr. Palaniswami condoned 21 of the 25 MLAs, while the four members resigned from the Assembly and joined the TVK.
During the inquiry into the petition, the four former MLAs appeared before the Speaker separately on two occasions and gave both oral and written explanations for their conduct during the trust vote, in which they had defied the party whip. Following this, the Speaker sought certain clarifications from Mr. Palaniswami. AIADMK leaders, on behalf of Mr. Palaniswami, recently submitted his explanation to the Speaker.
Against this backdrop, the Speaker has called both sides to appear before him, as he seeks further clarifications in the matter based on the explanations received from them earlier.
