The Hindu : One-man, one-post Act: plea admitted

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Jun 18, 2002

Southern States

Southern States - Tamil Nadu

One-man, one-post Act: plea admitted

By Tamil Nadu Bureau

CHENNAI JUNE 17. With barely 24 hours left for M.K. Stalin to lose Chennai Mayorship, the Madras High Court today admitted a petition challenging the AIADMK Government's controversial one-man, one-post law prohibiting MLAs and MPs from continuing as chiefs of local bodies.

The First Bench comprising the Chief Justice B. Subhashan Reddy and Justice D. Murugesan ordered notices to the Law Secretaries of the State and Centre and also the Mayor, returnable by Tuesday.

The amended Tamil Nadu Municipalties Act, enjoins upon Mr. Stalin, son of the DMK president, M. Karunanidhi, to quit either the post of Thousand Lights MLA or that of Mayor by tomorrow night (June 18). If he fails to do so, he will be stripped of Mayorship. However, Mr. Stalin has thrown down the gauntlet at the Jayalalithaa Government, daring it to strip him of one of the posts.

When the petition filed by the advocate, S. Udhayakumar, challenging the amendment was taken up this morning, the senior counsel, K.M. Vijayan, argued that no petition had been filed challenging Mr. Stalin's election and no disqualifying provision such as the one contemplated in the new Act was available on the date of his election. ``The voter has every right to expect his elected representative to remain in the post for the full term of five years''.

The petition challenged both the competence of the legislature to make such amendments, which encroached on parliamentary powers, and the retrospective character of the enactment.

The Advocate-General, N.R. Chandran, who argued that the `affected person' was not before the court and that one should not fight by proxy, will make a detailed submission on behalf of the Government on Tuesday.

SEC ready for poll

Meanwhile, the State Election Commissioner, V. Palanichamy, who is in-charge of conducting local bodies elections, told the media that the Commission was prepared to hold the Mayoral poll within six months of the vacancy being notified by the Chennai Corporation Commsisioner.

The Commissioner said that after the one-man, one-post law was notified on June 4, an AIADMK MP, S.P.M. Syed Khan, resigned his Uthamapalayam town panchayat president post and the newly-elected AIADMK MLA from Acharapakkam, A. Bhuvaragamoorthy, quit Kancheepuram district panchayat membership.

However, Mr. Stalin, chief target of the legislation, is determined not to step down on his own. He would rather be stripped of the post.

In a brief chat with media at the Ripon buildings, Chennai Corporation headquarters, after receiving petitions from the public, Mr. Stalin said he was ``not sure'' whether the government would hold the Mayoral poll even if he was deprived of the post.

``I will not be surprised if the AIADMK Government passes an ordinance to make the Deputy Mayor (AIADMK's `Karate' Thyagarajan) acting Mayor. Under normal circumstances, vacancies will have to be filled up by conducting elections once in six months. But it is unlikely that this Government will proceed in that direction.''

Describing the Jayalalithaa regime as a ``Thuglak durbar'', he said, ``it is funny'' that the Chennai Corporation Council's assent was not taken before the Bill was passed in the Assembly or published in the Government gazette.

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