Sources from Chennai have reported recently that the apex court has sought the assistance of Attorney General KK Venugopal in the matter asking if there is any provision for conducting a secret ballot vote during the trust vote in an Assembly. Meanwhile it was stated that in his petition to the Supreme Court, former Tamilnadu chief minister O Panneerselvam challenged the 18 February trust vote in the state Assembly and sought another trust vote through secret ballot.
Moreover the former Tamilnadu chief minister alleged that he was made to resign under duress, and the MLAs were threatened to vote for Palaniswami. The petition was filed by Panneerselvam's aide K Pandiarajan and the plea questioned as to why the Speaker did not postpone the proceedings and did not carry the vote of confidence motion through a secret ballot.
Meanwhile it was added that on 16 February, Palaniswami, a loyalist of
Sasikala, was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Tamilnadu. The floor test had
witnessed chaotic scenes leading to the eviction of the main opposition
DMK and a walkout by its allies in protest.
