'Washing machine politics': Udhayanidhi Stalin calls AIADMK MLA resignations a betrayal, accuses TVK of p

AIADMK faces another blow as Karur MLA M.R. Vijayabhaskar resigns, marking the sixth such departure (Photo credit: X/@MR Vijayabhaskar) CHENNAI: AIADMK suffered another setback on Monday as Karur MLA and formertransport minister MR Vijayabhaskar resigned from the legislative assembly. He is the sixth MLAfrom the party to quit, reducing AIADMK’s strength in the assembly from 47 to 41.Speaker JCD Prabhakar confirmed that Vijayabhaskar had submitted a handwritten resignation under Assembly Rule 21 and that ithad been accepted under Rule 22.The resignation comes just three days after AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami appointed him as a headquarters secretary, a move seen as a reconciliation attempt. Sources close to Vijayabaskar, however, said he was upset with EPS for not reappointing him as Karur district secretary, a post which was stripped off when he joined the rebel group led by ex-minister C Ve Shanmugam.This follows the resignation of former health minister C Vijayabhaskar, who stepped down as Viralimalai MLA on June 16. Both were among the 25 AIADMK legislators who voted in favour of Vijay’s govt during the confidence motion on May 13.MLA resignations a betrayal, TVK is poaching: UdhayaWhile C Vijayabaskar is expected to join TVK later this week after postponing his scheduled entry on June 29, there are speculations that M R Vijayabhaskar may also join the ruling party.Four other AIADMK MLAs resigned and joined TVK on May 25 and 26. The latest resignation has intensified allegations of TVK engaging in horse trading. AIADMK leaders accused TVK of engineering defections to strengthen its position in the assembly.Karur district secretary Kamala Kannan alleged that C Vijayabaskar told partymen that he had mounting debts and needed to settle them which was not possible if he continued in AIADMK.Calling him a traitor, Kamala Kannan said party cadres had spent substantial sums to secure his victory. AIADMK workers in Karur burst crackers to celebratehis departure from the party.Leader of the Opposition Udhayanidhi Stalin accused TVK of resorting to “poaching” and said the repeated resignations reflected the ruling party’s lack of confidence in parties that have supported govt. He said the resignations were a “betrayal” of the electorate and alleged that TVK was indulging in “washing machine politics”.AIADMK MP I S Inbadurai urged the governor and the judiciary to intervene, alleging attempts to alter the assembly’s numerical strength through defections. Congress MP Karti P Chidambaram said the resignations, occurring at regular intervals without clear explanations, were an affront to voters.VCK president Thol Thirumavalavan also expressed concern, saying the frequent resignations could not be dismissed as merely an internal matter of AIADMK and did not bode well for Tamil Nadu politics.