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Opposition leaders meet President for EPS floor test

Out of 234 members of Assembly, the present government had only the support of 113 MLAs including the Speaker.

Chennai: President Ram Nath Kovind who received a petition from a delegation of opposition leaders demanding action to order floor test for Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami sought time to look into their representation.

The petition of DMK working president M.K. Stalin was given to him by a team including CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury, Congress MP Anand Sharma, CPI MP D.Raja, DMK Rajya Sabha MPs Kanimozhi, T.K.S. Elangovan, R.S. Bharathi and 'Tiruchy' N. Siva.

Kanimozhi, who spoke to the media about the meeting said the President had promised to consider their demand and hoped that he would take appropriate action.

The petition requested the immediate intervention of the President into the Constitutional impasse and crisis in Tamil Nadu and direct Governor Ch. Vidyasagar Rao to order for immediate floor test to prove the majority of the government headed by Edappadi K. Palanisami and kindly take all measures to restore the parliamentary system in the State as per the Constitution of India.

A ministry, which had lost the confidence of the House could not by any stretch of imagination be termed as a government collectively responsible to the House, Stalin said in the petition.

As 21 MLAs of ruling AIADMK (Amma) had withdrawn their support and many more MLAs who earlier supported speak in different and dissenting voice, “it is now abundantly clear that the Council of Ministers headed by Pananisamy has lost its majority”, he said.

Out of 234 members of Assembly, the present government had only the support of 113 MLAs including the Speaker. The MLAs opposed to the government are 120 in numbers with lone vacancy, the petition pointed out.

The Governor had not passed any direction or order over the letter of withdrawal given by 21 ruling party members of Assembly and the letters given by the opposition parties. “The Governor's delay in discharging his constitutional duties is causing a minority government to rule in the State unethically and unconstitutionally. The inordinate silence of the Governor without ordering confidence vote is actually thwarting the Parliamentary system and directly encouraging not only horse-trading but also unsavoury and undemocratic political manipulations in the state”, petition said.

( Source : Deccan Chronicle. )
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