CHENNAI: Assembly Speaker JCD Prabhakar on Tuesday accepted the handwritten resignation letter of former minister and sitting Ambasamudram MLA Esakki Subbiah, after initially rejecting the typed version.Subbaiah is expected to join the ruling Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK). This follows the resignation on Monday of three MLAs from the rebel camp led by former AIADMK ministers C Ve Shanmugam and SP Velumani – Madurantakam (Reserved) MLA Maragatham Kumaravel, Dharapuram (Reserved) MLA P Sathyabama, and Perundurai MLA S Jayakumar. Due to this, the number of MLAs in the rebel camp reduced from 25 to 16.After accepting Subbaiah’s resignation, Prabhakar told reporters that he would accept the resignation letters only if they were presented by the MLAs in person and in the proper format. Prabhakar said, “My decision on accepting the resignation letters of the MLAs is final. No time limit can be set for me to take a decision on this issue.” He said that he is working as per legal provisions.Earlier in the day, a delegation led by former ministers Agri SS Krishnamurthy and OS Manian submitted a representation on behalf of party general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami, urging the Speaker not to accept resignations from the rebel camp. He also appealed to the Speaker to cancel the government order declaring Madurantakam (reserved), Dharapuram (reserved) and Perundurai constituencies vacant after the recent resignations.“Accepting these resignations is encouraging horse-trading by the ruling TVK,” Agri Krishnamurthy told reporters after meeting the speaker. “The TVK government is horse-trading at an alarming pace. Referring to the drama that took place at the secretariat on Monday, he said, “The MLAs who have resigned are included in the TVK and membership cards are issued within five minutes.”The delegation also argued that accepting resignations from MLAs facing anti-defection proceedings is a violation of the Constitution. AIADMK RS MP IS Imbadurai said, “When the representation of the party leader (EPS) is pending before the Speaker, the resignation of MLAs facing legal action should not be considered.”Meanwhile, former Speaker M Appavu expressed surprise at the need for the current Speaker to show so much promptness on the resignation letters of newly elected MLAs.