Opposition parties and the TTV Dhinakaran faction of the ruling AIADMK continued to mount pressure on the Tamil Nadu Governor to take action against the Edappadi K Palaniswami government.
An Opposition delegation led by the DMK will meet President Ram Nath Kovind on Thursday to demand that the Palaniswami-led government prove its majority in the Assembly.
Last Saturday, DMK Principal Secretary Durai Murugan, who led a delegation of opposition parties, submitted a memorandum to Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao urging that Palaniswami prove his majority in the 234-member House. The State’s principal Opposition made this demand after 19 members of the 134-member AIADMK government told the Governor that they no longer support Palaniswami.
On August 22, in separate letters to the Governor, 19 MLAs supporting Dhinakaran said they no longer have confidence in Palaniswami. But they continue to support the AIADMK government.
Representatives of the Dhinakaran faction told the media on Wednesday that they would escalate their demand to the President for removing Palaniswami as Chief Minister in a couple of days if the Governor does not take action.
The group met Chief Whip S Rajendran to submit their explanations for meeting the Governor last week. The Chief Whip had last week recommended to Speaker P Dhanapal that the 19 MLAs be disqualified after they made direct representations to the Governor.
The fallout within the ruling party follows the rapprochement between two factions led by Palaniswami and O Panneerselvam, the former chief minister. Panneerselvam was sworn in as Deputy Chief Minister on August 21. Both have announced their decision to oust Dhinakaran and his aunt VK Sasikala, the general secretary of AIADMK from the party. They have called for a meeting of the general council on September 12.
Governor faces criticism Meanwhile, the Governor has drawn flak from opposition parties and the AIADMK’s Dhinakaran faction for not taking action in line with their demands.
A delegation of opposition parties including Thirumavalavan of the VCK and communist parties also met with the Governor on Wednesday. Following the meeting, Thirumavalavan told media persons that Rao had commented that since the 19 members continue within the AIADMK, the issue is an internal party affair.
“Governor Rao told us that under the present circumstances he cannot intervene and the law does not give room for it,” he told reporters here.