‘Governor won’t intervene in AIADMK conflict’

Chennai: Amid demands that the Edappadi government should face a floor test, VCK leader Thol Thirumavalavan on Wednesday claimed that governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao has taken the stand that he cannot intervene as the law does not permit such action in what clearly is an internal conflict in the AIADMK.

The rebel TTV Dhinakaran camp, comprising 19 MLAs, had petitioned the Governor on August 22 seeking his intervention as they had lost confidence in the CM.

Emerging from a meeting with governor Rao as part of a delegation comprising Communist and MMK leaders, the VCK chief said, “The governor told us that since those 19 MLAs are still in the AIADMK, it cannot be said that the ruling party has lost majority in the Assembly. That being the case, he said law does not give room for his intervention”.  

Thiruma’s delegation too has now asked hovernor Rao to intervene and force a floor test.

“To resolve the prevailing political uncertainty, instability... the Assembly must be urgently convened and  Chief Minister Palaniswami must prove his majority on the floor of  the House”, said their petition.

A DMK-Congress delegation had met the Governor on August 27 with a similar request that he should direct the CM to seek floor test in view of the open rebellion by 19 AIADMK legislators and TTV Dhinakaran’s repeated assertion that there were more MLAs still in the EPS-OPS camp as ‘sleeper cells’ and they would join his revolt at his call.

Reacting to Thirumavalavan’s revelation, DMK working president M.K. Stalin said it would be “the dark pages in our democracy” if the Governor did not fulfil his Constitutional duties and took the stand he cannot intervene.

“I am surprised, shocked”, said Stalin, while accusing the BJP of trying to use the political situation for a backdoor entry into Tamil Nadu. The DMK has written two letters on this issue to Governor Rao so far and its leaders have warned that if there was no satisfying response from the Raj Bhavan, they would approach the President for remedy.

State BJP chief Tamilisai Soundararajan wondered how the Governor could get involved in the AIADMK issue. “This is a party issue. What’s the Governor’s role? If parties want him to intervene as per their whims and fancies, that’s not possible”, she said.

Earlier in the day, Dhinakaran told reporters he was confident Governor Rao would take a ‘good decision. Repeating his ‘sleeper cells’ claim, he said actually there were 40 MLAs in his camp while only 21 were brought in the open.