Actor Vijay-led TVK on Friday moved the Supreme Court seeking directions to Tamil Nadu Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar to invite his single-largest party to form the government in the state.
TVK chief Vijay, buoyed by the support from the Left parties, on Friday called on Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar at the Lok Bhavan here in connection with securing an invite from him to form the government.
The plea in the apex court was filed by Ezhilarasi K and it contended that the governor's "failure" to invite Vijay violated Articles 12 and 32 of the Constitution.
"The floor of the House is the only legitimate place to test a majority claim. No letter, affidavit, or support document given to the Governor can substitute for a vote on the floor of the Assembly. This principle has been affirmed by the Supreme Court in every government formation dispute since 1994", the plea contends.
It has argued that the Governor’s role is only to invite a party to form government, and not to demand full proof of majority before issuing such an invitation.
“Requiring TVK to first produce letters from 118 MLAs before issuing an invitation would invert the constitutional sequence,” the plea states.
According to the petition, the correct sequence is to invite TVK to form the government, swear in the new regime and then have a floor test conducted to show that the sworn in government has majority support.
The petitioner has sought a writ of mandamus from the Court, urging it to direct the Governor to invite Vijay to form the government and swear him in as Chief Minister.
According to a report by Bar and Bench an interim application has also been filed seeking to restrain the Governor from inviting any other person to form the government.
The plea states that any invitation to a person other than Vijay would be contrary to constitutional principles and would affect the democratic mandate of the people of Tamil Nadu, reports Bar and Bench.
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 the TVK, it is still short of as many seats to touch the magic number of 118, the majority mark.
TVK founder Vijay 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.
During the day, two Left parties, CPI and CPI (M), each having two seats, also extended support to the TVK, bringing it closer to the magic number of 118 legislators required for a simple majority.
