CHENNAI: For over a week, former chief minister O Panneerselvam was hogging the limelight, unleashing scathing attacks on Sasikala and her family. The DMK , on Saturday, sought to regain its lost ground by bringing back the spotlight on it as the principal opposition party. The efforts of the DMK members to engage the AIADMK MLAs belonging to the Sasikala faction went in vain as they remained as immobile as stone, choosing to be mere spectators. Eventually, as Dhanapal ordered the en masse eviction of its MLAs, the DMK lost an opportunity to take the government to the brink. As a result, even possible defectors in the AIADMK camp supported the government because the numbers were heavily stacked against the opposition in the absence of 88 DMK MLAs in the House.

Source: Times of India February 18, 2017 18:11 UTC