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VCK chief D Ravikumar challenges TVK on appointing rebel AIADMK MLAs as ministers
Politics
Published on 15 May 2026

Ravikumar says minister posts could trigger disqualification
VCK general secretary D Ravikumar has urged Tamil Chief Minister Vijay’s TVK government to avoid appointing breakaway AIADMK MLAs as ministers. After 25 rebel MLAs backed the TVK during a recent trust vote, Ravikumar warned that defying the AIADMK whip could invite disqualification under the Tenth Schedule, even if there is no immediate constitutional bar on minister appointments. He also questioned whether the public would accept such defections and re-elect those lawmakers under a different banner.
- Ravikumar objects to TVK inducting 25 rebel AIADMK MLAs as ministers
- He says AIADMK leadership issues the whip, making it binding on MLAs
- Defying the whip could lead to disqualification proceedings under the Tenth Schedule
- He cites the Supreme Court Subhash Desai ruling on whip appointment authority
- TVK gained 144 MLAs after the May 13 trust vote, surpassing the 118 mark
- Ravikumar argues the legitimacy test is political acceptance, not just legality
Read the full story at The Economic Times
This summarization was done by Beige for a story published on
The Economic Times
