Chennai, July 29: Opposition leaders, led by the DMK, today trooped to Raj Bhavan to urge governor P.S. Ramamohan Rao to take “appropriate action as laid down in the Constitution” to restore the rule of law in Tamil Nadu.

The Opposition leaders, during a 45-minute meeting with the governor, handed to him a nine-page memorandum signed by more than 50 MLAs and other leaders calling for his “immediate intervention”.

The immediate provocation for this action was the drastic curtailment of the budget session of the Assembly and the privilege issue brought in the House against DMK president M. Karunanidhi by Tamil Nadu finance minister C. Ponnaiyan.

K. Anbazhagan of the DMK said the “dismal” law and order situation in the state, more instances of corruption coming to light and the ruling ADMK “totally ignoring” the Opposition and the democratic norms to be observed in the Assembly had compelled them to take to the streets.

Anbazhagan said the governor, within his constitutional powers, should take steps to dispel the “fear” of the people and ensure that Assembly proceedings are conducted in accordance with the Constitution and Assembly rules. The governor, he said, had assured them that he would “take action to the extent possible as permitted under the law”.

The DMK leader, however, clarified that they had not sought the dismissal of chief minister Jayalalithaa’s government by the Centre by invoking Article 356 of the Constitution. “No, we have not used that language (of Article 356),” he said.