‘Amma defeated many conspiracies during her time, none can topple this govt’: E Palaniswami

Earlier in the day, Congress legislative party leader in Tamil Nadu Assembly KR Ramasamy wrote a letter to Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao requesting him to direct Palaniswami to prove his majority in the Assembly, as reported by ANI. This follows DMK working president MK Stalin shooting off a similar letter to the Governor complaining of an ‘unprecedented constitutional crisis’ in the state and urging him to call a floor test without delay. The Congress has 8 MLAs in the Assembly, the DMK has 89 legislators. Also Read: Now, Congress joins DMK in Tamil Nadu to demand floor test from CM E Palaniswami

The reason for Congress and DMK’s confidence to take part in a floor test stems from the banner of rebellion raised by 19 AIADMK MLAs loyal to TTV Dinakaran against the party. These 19 MLAs, currently housed in a resort near Puducherry, had met the Governor Tuesday demanding action against Palaniswami for alleged abuse of power, corruption and favouritism. Sources told the Indian Express that Dinakaran wants Palaniswami to be replaced as chief minister by an MLA in his camp so that he could wield more influence over the government and the party.

On Monday, after months of discussions and talks, the two factions led by former CM O Panneerselvam and current CM EK Palaniswami merged resulting in a unified AIADMK. Panneerselvam was made the deputy chief minister of the state and given charge of the finance ministry.