SC petition filed amid TN political deadlock

A Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam member movd the Supreme Court of India seeking directions to Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar to invite TVK chief Vijay to form the government, arguing the single-largest party must get the first opportunity

New Delhi: A member of actor-turned-politician Vijay-led TVK on Friday moved the Supreme Court seeking directions to Tamil Nadu Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar to invite his single largest political party to form the government in the state.

The TVK won 108 seats in the 234-member Assembly in the April 23 polls and emerged as the single largest party. Though the Congress party, with five MLAs, has extended support to TVK, the single-largest party is still short of as many seats to touch the magic number of 118, the majority mark.
Vijay, the TVK founder, has met Governor Arlekar twice, requesting to be invited to form the government. However, no invitation has been extended so far to the new party to form the government.

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During the day, two Left parties also extended support to the TVK (CPI and CPI (M), each having two seats), bringing it closer to the magic number of 118 legislators required for a simple majority. The plea in the apex court has been filed by one Ezhilarasi K, who has contended that the governor’s failure to invite Vijay violated Articles 12 and 32 of the Constitution.

“Issue a writ of mandamus or any such other writ to direct the Governor of State of Tamil Nadu to invite C Joseph Vijay, leader of the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), to form the Government of Tamil Nadu and to swear him in as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu forthwith,” the plea said. The plea has made the principal secretary to the governor, the state government and the Centre as parties.

The petitioner, who claims to be a practising lawyer and an active member of the TVK, has sought an urgent hearing of the petition, contending that “as per the settled legal position by this apex court, firstly the governor is duty-bound to invite the leader of the largest single party to form the government and later prove the majority on the floor”.

“Joseph Vijay is the elected leader of the largest single party. However, from the media, it is understood that the governor may be inviting post-poll coalition parties in Tamil Nadu to form the government. This would amount to a violation of the legal principles settled by this apex court and a death knell to democracy on the whole,” the plea said.

The TVK won 108 seats in the recently held polls for 234 Assembly constituencies in Tamil Nadu, while the ruling DMK and main opposition party AIADMK won 59 and 47 seats respectively. The Congress party and the PMK won five and four seats respectively.

The plea further said that the top court alone is the “saviour of democracy” and prayed for an interim order restraining the governor from inviting any other political formation except the TVK, which has already staked the claim.