Order floor test in a week, says MK Stalin

Chennai: A delegation of Opposition leaders led by DMK working president M.K. Stalin on Sunday told governor CH Vidyasagar Rao that they would knock at the doors of the judiciary if he failed to order Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami to prove his majority on the floor of the Tamil Nadu Assembly within a week’s time.

Stalin, the Leader of Opposition, also submitted a memorandum on his party’s behalf to Rao in which he told him that his “omission, so far, on the part of your good-self in not directing a floor test is breeding a graving suspicion as to the impartiality of your functioning.”

The strongly-worded memorandum quoted several judgments by the Supreme Court in various cases and provisions in the Constitution that mandates the Governor to order a floor test if he is convinced that the government of the day does not enjoy majority in the Assembly.

“We have told the governor that it is very clear that the Palaniswami Government has lost majority. DMK and its allies have the support of 98 MLAs and since Dhinakaran claims to have the support of 21 MLAs, the number of legislators opposing the Government is 119 as against the figure of 114 legislators who are with the Government,” Stalin told reporters after meeting Rao at the Raj Bhawan here.

He also quoted media reports that suggested that only 114 of the 135 AIADMK MLAs attended a meeting called by Palaniswami last week.

Accompanied by Congress leader K.R. Ramasamy, IUML MLA K.A.M. Muhammad Abubacker and DMK’s deputy floor leader Durai Murugan, Stalin said it was explained to Governor Rao that it was “abundantly clear” that the incumbent Chief Minister has lost the confidence of majority MLAs of the House.

“We also told him that we will move the judiciary and people’s court if he failed to direct the Chief Minister to prove his majority in the House. We hope we will not be pushed to such a situation. Allowing this government to continue would only encourage horse-trading,” Stalin said.

This is the second time that a delegation led by the Opposition parties is meeting Rao seeking direction to Palaniswami to prove his majority on the floor of the House ever since 19 legislators owing allegiance to Dhinakaran met the Governor and submitted letter of withdrawal of support to the Chief Minister.  

“Under the Constitution, your good-self has taken an oath to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution and the law. But, in the instant case, the action of your good-self has been more in defiance and variance of the Constitution and the laws of the land,” Stalin said in his memorandum. He also demanded that Rao intervene in the “current constitutional crisis” in the state and direct a floor test.