‘Reconsider’ LoP’s request to allot seat for his Deputy Udhayakumar in front row: CM asks Speaker

CHENNAI: Deputy leader of Opposition R B Udhayakumar of AIADMK could likely get his request for a front-row seat next to his legislature party leader Edappadi K Palaniswami in the State Assembly fulfilled soon.

Chief Minister M K Stalin on Tuesday urged Speaker M Appavu to reconsider the request of Leader of Opposition K Palaniswami to grant Udhayakumar a seat next to the LoP.

Raising the issue again in the House during the zero hour Tuesday, LoP Palaniswami said that they had written to him (Speaker) four times and personally urged him to allot the seat next to him to Udhayakumar who was elected deputy leader of opposition by his party MLAs.

Responding to the LoP's request, Stalin said, "You (Speaker) had replied that the matter was related to the rights of the Speaker. You had cited the order passed by former speaker Dhanapal on the issue in your reply. However, I would like to request you to reconsider the request of the Leader of the Opposition and oblige."

Should the Speaker formally oblige the AIADMK, which seems a mere formality now, the big question remains as to where former Chief Minister O Panneerselvam would be accommodated in the House. The official seat allocation would also mean the Speaker's formal recognition of Udhayakumar as the deputy LoP of the AIADMK, a post held by OPS till his expulsion from the party by the AIADMK headed by its General Secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami.

The seat allocation would be tantamount to a legislative recognition for Udhayakumar, nullifying the claim to OPS and company in the ongoing legal battles between OPS and EPS, many of which the latter has conclusively won.