Nearly a fortnight after 19 dissident AIADMK MLAs met Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao and formally withdrew support to Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami, the silence on the part of Mr. Rao in ordering a floor test in the Assembly has led to charges that he is indirectly aiding horse trading. Legal luminaries are, however, divided on the Governor’s role.
“Not only AIADMK [dissidents] but even the Opposition has asked for a vote of confidence. When there is reasonable suspicion that the numbers [of the government] have come down, constitutionally it is the duty of the Governor to summon the Assembly to prove the majority [of the government]. Otherwise, he would be perpetuating a minority government on the people of Tamil Nadu,” a senior Supreme Court lawyer, Mohan Parasaran, said.
Another Supreme Court lawyer, Raju Ramachandran, said: “A partisan Speaker can use this time to start disqualification proceedings against the rebel legislators, legitimising a minority government.” The only way out of this impasse, Mr. Ramachandran said, is the sidelined AIADMK leader T.T.V. Dhinakaran and the Opposition moving the court.
“At the same time, the extent of court’s intervention is not predictable,” he said.
The Governor cannot “indefinitely” ignore the evidence at hand, Supreme Court lawyer Sanjay Hegde said.
“If the Assembly is scheduled to meet in a foreseeable future, then the Governor can take a view that let the House take the call. The correct Constitutional course would be to convene the Assembly and ask the Chief Minister to prove his majority,” Mr. Hegde said.
The previous Assembly session ended in July and the next is expected in November.
Governor’s discretion
Constitutional expert Subash Kashyap, however, said, “Strictly speaking, it is entirely up to the Governor’s discretion not to convene a session.”
Mr. Kashyap said: “The Governor appoints the Chief Minister and on his advice, he appoints the Council of Ministers. Once that is done, his role ends. The CM and the Council of Ministers are responsible to the Assembly. The question of minority or majority is for the House to decide.”
