Retired IPS officer challenges TN governor’s refusal to invite Vijay to form govt

A retired IPS officer on Saturday moved the Supreme Court against Tamil Nadu Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar for not inviting TVK chief C Joseph Vijay to form the government despite his party emerging as the single-largest party in the Assembly elections.

The plea was filed by former IPS officer M Ramasubramani, who earlier served as Additional Director General of Police and Inspector General of Police. In his petition, he argued that the governor’s decision was “an unconstitutional determination of majority outside the Assembly”.

The plea further stated that the governor cannot deny TVK the chance to prove its majority on the floor of the House through a floor test.

TVK won 108 seats in the 234-member Tamil Nadu Assembly elections held on April 23, making it the single-largest party in the state.

Although the Congress, which has five MLAs, extended support to TVK, the party still remains short of the majority mark of 118 seats.

Vijay, founder of TVK, has already met Governor Arlekar twice and requested him to invite the party to form the government. However, no invitation has been issued so far.

On Friday, another petition was filed in the Supreme Court by TVK member Ezhilarasi K, seeking directions to the Tamil Nadu governor to invite Vijay to form the government.

The plea claimed that the governor’s refusal to invite Vijay violated “Articles 12 and 32 of the Constitution.”