TN Oppn meets Prez, seeks floor test in Assembly

Tamil Nadu's Opposition parties led by DMK met President Ram Nath Kovind on Thursday urging him to direct Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao to convene the State Assembly immediately to hold a trust vote to test the strength of Edappadi K Palanisami government, especially after 19 AIADMK MLAs withdrew support.

While Opposition leaders were meeting Kovind, CM Palanisami was holding meetings with MLAs from each district who supported him in a bid to prevent them from switching loyalty to ousted deputy general secretary TTV Dinakaran.

The delegation — comprising of CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury, CPI national secretary D Raja, Congress leader Anand Sharma and DMK Rajya Sabha MP Kanimozhi — accused the Governor of being partisan for refusing to hold a floor test. In a memorandum submitted to Kovind, they said that after the rebellion by 21 AIADMK MLAs, the Palanisami government has the support of only 113 MLAs as opposed to the 117 MLAs it requires for the simple majority in the House of 234 members including a vacant seat.

Speaking to reporters, Raja said, "Tamil Nadu politics is in dire situation today, and its foundation has been questioned. The Governor should have acted in accordance with the Constitution by calling for a floor test."

Immediately after the opposition delegation visit, BJP Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy called on the President to apprise him about the political scene in Tamil Nadu.