AIADMK MLA resignations should be probed, says People’s Watch

Madurai: Human rights organisation People’s Watch has urged Tamil Nadu assembly speaker to conduct an inquiry before accepting the resignations of four AIADMK MLAs who later joined the ruling party, stating that the resignations raised constitutional and democratic concerns.

In a statement issued on Thursday, the organisation said the resignations were submitted within two weeks of the declaration of assembly election results and alleged that they appeared politically motivated. It sought scrutiny under Article 190(3)(b) of the Constitution, which requires the speaker to satisfy that a resignation is “voluntary and genuine”.

People’s Watch said unnecessary resignations leading to by-elections would impose a financial burden on the public exchequer, claiming that election administration expenses were nearly Rs4 crore per constituency. The organisation also cited the Supreme Court judgment in Shrimanth Balasaheb Patil v Karnataka Legislative Assembly Speaker (2019) regarding the speaker’s powers in cases linked to defections.

The organisation further argued that repeated resignations from the same political party in consecutive days deprived voters of representation and could undermine the intent of the Representation of the People Act, 1951.