Six months are about to be completed since the TVK government proved its majority in the Legislative Assembly. In this situation, talk has once again been swirling in political circles about an operation to topple the government. In Coimbatore, DMK leader Stalin also made a pointed remark, 'The continuation of TVK rule is not good for Tamil Nadu...'
What on earth is happening? Have the opposition parties started moving their pieces to bring down the government?
'DMK and AIADMK are joining hands to buy off TVK’s MLAs and, with the help of the BJP, are planning to topple the government,' the minister alleged yesterday. Similarly, TVK MLA Mustafa has also stated that an AIADMK functionary from Madurai offered him Rs 30 crore for the no-confidence motion.
In this regard, we spoke to some of TVK’s key ministers.
'The convention is to bring the next no-confidence motion only after six months have passed since proving a majority. But both the DMK and the AIADMK did not want us to form the government at all. Even after we proved our majority, the team of Senthil Balaji and E.V. Velu tried to buy off our MLAs. Based on information provided by our MLAs, we have also filed a case regarding horse-trading.
We proved our majority on May 13. By convention, a no-confidence motion can be brought only after November 13. That is why a team led by former DMK ministers has once again started the job of buying MLAs. We have also received some information through the intelligence department. According to that, they have begun approaching some MLAs by tempting them with large sums of money. Both the AIADMK and the DMK have joined hands in this regime-toppling operation.
That is why we are on alert right now. We have instructed the MLAs to immediately inform the leadership if anyone approaches them with thoughts of toppling the government. We have drawn up a list of MLAs who are not getting importance because of internal party feuds, MLAs who came from other parties, and MLAs who are upset that they are not able to make money, and we are keeping a close watch on them and talking to them continuously. No matter how much they stand on their heads, the DMK and AIADMK cannot shake our government.
“Now we are in a position to retain power even without the support of the Communists. The VCK and IUML MLAs are also standing firmly with us. There is a possibility that the by-election will also be completed by the third week of December. We will win that too completely and thwart all the devious attempts of the opposition parties,” they said.
Even if the opposition parties take up a no-confidence motion, senior political analysts say the TVK government can legally postpone it.
'There are no mandatory rules saying that a government can be asked to prove its majority only once every six months. That is just a convention. But there is another rule. That is, the maximum gap between one session of the legislative assembly and the next can be six months. By that measure, in the TVK government, the last session ended only on September 8. From then, if you count six months, the Speaker can avoid convening the assembly until March.
If a no-confidence motion is brought, it must be taken up for debate in the legislature and put to a vote within a specified number of days. But the Speaker may avoid convening the legislature by citing the six-month gap. There is another complication in that as well. To postpone such a no-confidence motion, the Governor’s blessing is also needed.
If the opposition parties complain that this government does not have a majority, the Governor can immediately order the legislature to be convened. Which side the Governor is on is important here. Whichever side is supported, the other side will go to court. All this drama has taken place in many states where the BJP has come to power.
However, the opposition parties will not bring a no-confidence motion until the right time comes. At the very least, they will wait until the by-election results for five constituencies are out. If the by-election results are not favorable to the TVK government, then the opposition parties will come together and intensify Operation Topple-the-Government. It is only because he has realized this that Chief Minister Vijay has also started focusing on the by-election constituencies so early,' they say.
We spoke to some of the key administrators of the headquarters. “There is no need for the opposition parties to come together and topple the TVK government. Given the way they govern, their alliance partners and the people themselves will join together and throw Vijay out. Vijay will be in alliance with Congress. But he will not even send the party’s spokesperson to the protests in Delhi.
Congress high command itself is irritated by Vijay’s actions, which seem to cower before the BJP. On the other hand, they have also upset Thiruma by eagerly trying to cozy up to the PMK. In just six months, the TVK government has failed on every major issue, including law and order deterioration, drug circulation, rising prices, and women’s safety.
Vijay has won only after a hard fight in Dharapuram and Madurantakam. The upcoming by-elections in five constituencies will not be that easy for them either. With what face will Vijay ask for votes from Vijayabhaskars and Isakki Subbaiyahs? In the by-elections, the people themselves will teach Vijay a fitting lesson. Then, the opportunity to send this anti-people government home will come on its own. Keeping that in mind, our leader too has said that this regime continuing is not good for Tamil Nadu. In the meantime, all this crying that DMK is buying TVK MLAs is nothing but crocodile tears, meant to hide the real people’s issues,' they say.
It is only known that all sides are planning moves that will shake the Fort to its core over the next 2-3 months.
Who is going to win this political game?