A plea has been filed in the Supreme Court seeking a CBI investigation into allegations of horse-trading involving Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) general secretary N Anand, also known as Bussy Anand, and four former AIADMK MLAs who joined the ruling party after resigning from the Assembly, allegedly aiding the formation of the C Joseph Vijay-led government in Tamil Nadu.
The petition, filed by M Srinivasan through advocate Achintya Tiwari, seeks directions to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to register a case against Anand and former AIADMK legislators K Maragatham Kumaravel (Maduranthakam), S Jayakumar (Perundurai), P Sathyabama (Dharapuram) and Esakki Subaya (Ambasamudram). The four MLAs resigned from the Assembly and joined the TVK on May 25 and 26.
The petitioner has also sought a direction from the court asking the CBI to complete its investigation and submit a report within a timeframe fixed by the Supreme Court.
It prayed to the court to exercise the plenary power under Article 142 of the Constitution to frame specific rules for preventing horse-trading after elections with regard to candidates who have either been disqualified by the Speaker or those who have resigned from the Assembly without any valid, material and justifiable reason.
The petitioner also prayed for grant of an injunction against the four former AIADMK MLAs from contesting the by-elections either independently or with the support of any political parties till rules are framed by the court.
"Issue a Writ of Mandamus or any other appropriate writ, order or direction thereby directing the Respondent No.3 (Central Bureau of Investigation) to register the case against the respondents Nos. 07 to 11 herein for allegedly indulging in the horse trading to prove the majority in the Tamil Nadu Assembly and further direct to conduct the investigation and to file final report within time fixed by this Court," the plea said.
On May 10, actor-turned-politician C Joseph Vijay took oath as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu with a pledge that "a new era of real, secular, social justice starts now".
The ascent of Vijay to the top job marks a significant realignment and a historic political shift in the state after his TVK emerged as the single largest party with 108 seats in the recent elections, shattering the decades-long dominance of the DMK and AIADMK in the state.
Although TVK on its own did not secure the majority in the 234-member Tamil Nadu Assembly, Vijay managed to get support from the Congress, VCK, CPI, CPI (M) and IUML to gather 120 MLAs and cross the 118 mark to form the government, an act seen as a demonstration of his political adaptability beyond his image as a popular actor.
On May 13, the TVK government in Tamil Nadu crossed a major hurdle by comfortably winning the trust vote with the support of 25 rebel AIADMK MLAs amid a walkout by the DMK. The Opposition made allegations of horse-trading that were rejected by Vijay.