AIADMK walks out of Tamil Nadu Assembly; alleges suppression of voices

Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], April 16 (ANI): All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) MLAs in the Tamil Nadu Assembly protested against the DMK-led state government for not a no confidence motion to be raised against state minister K Ponmudy and other ministers, who had recently stirred controversy for his remarks against certain sects of Hinduism and women.
Edappadi K Palaniswami, General Secretary of AIADMK said that the party brought a no confidence motion as per Assembly rule 72, but Speaker M Appavu did not allow them to speak on it.
While staging the walkout, the party leaders also raised slogans, "Where is democracy? No permission to raise people's issue."
The party is looking to raise the no-confidence motion against ministers K N Nehru, K Ponmudy, and V Senthil Balaji. While Balaji and Nehru are investigated by the ED, Ponmudy has stirred controversy for making derogatory remarks about women and Hindus.
"AIADMK wants to bring no-confidence motion as per Assembly Rule 72 as we lost confidence in DMK Ministers. We gave the letter to the Speaker in his room. K.N. Nehru and his son were under ED searches on 7th April...Minister K Ponmudy passed derogatory remarks against women and the Hindu religion...V. Senthil Balaji's TASMAC office was searched by the ED. So, we gave the letter to bring no-confidence motions against M.K. Stalin's ministers. But permission was denied," AIADMK chief told during a press conference after the walkout.
"This is a very important issue. Earlier, in the past, when such no-confidence motions were brought, they were taken up for discussion," he added.
Since Ponmudy's remarks, he has been dismissed from his post as General Secretary of DMK, with party MP Kanimozhi criticisising him too. He has also apologised for his remarks on April 12.
"I sincerely apologise for the inappropriate words I used while speaking at an event organised by the Thanthai Periyar Dravidar Kazhagam. I immediately felt deep regret for the inappropriate remarks I had made. As someone who has been in public life for a long time, I am deeply sorry for this lapse in judgment," Ponmudy said.
EPS also spoke about the recent alliance between his party and the BJP for the upcoming Assembly polls in 2026.
"Only elections will decide the strength of alliance. Votes without split should defeat the enemy. We made efforts to coordinate with parties with same thoughts, against DMK," he said.
He further claimed that many other parties would join the AIADMK-BJP alliance to defeat the DMK, adding, "First, the BJP came into our alliance. Very soon, many other parties would come into our AIADMK - BJP alliance."
The BJP and AIADMK had been announced on Friday (April 11), with EPS leading the charge for the election. The AIADMK leader called it a 'pivotal moment' and thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his guidance. (ANI)