Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Friday asserted that there was no justification for imposing President’s Rule in Tamil Nadu and said the single largest party should be invited to form the government and prove its majority on the floor of the House.
His remarks came after Tamil Nadu Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar on Thursday rejected Vijay’s claim to form the government, stating that the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) lacked the requisite numbers.
The TVK-led potential coalition remains short of the majority mark of 118 in the 234-member Tamil Nadu Assembly. TVK, which stunned the State’s Dravidian parties and disrupted the three-decade-old DMK-AIADMK duopoly, is set to see its effective strength reduced to 107 after Vijay steps down from one of the two seats he won. With the support of the Congress and its five MLAs, the alliance's strength stands at 112, five short of a majority.
Speaking to reporters, Abdullah said, "If we see the Supreme Court judgment, then there should be no President's rule. There are so many cases in which the SC has clearly stated that after the elections, the single largest party should be invited (for government formation) and they should be allowed to prove their majority in the assembly."
"It happened when (former prime minister) (A B) Vajpayee formed the government for 13 days, the President of India did not wait for him to show his numbers. The President of India invited him, the government was there for 13 days, but when Vajpayee did not have the numbers, he resigned," he said.
"So, if we take the SC judgement, then the Tamil Nadu Lok Bhavan has no justification to stop this process."
Abdullah further said, "Vijay should be allowed to form the government, and then he should be provided an opportunity to prove his majority and if he proves, he will remain, but if not, then he will have to resign."
Reacting to remarks by Leader of Opposition Sunil Sharma on the political situation in Jammu and Kashmir, Abdullah accused the BJP of attempting to destabilise the elected government.
Responding to Sharma’s remark that an “Eknath Shinde” could emerge from within the National Conference, Abdullah said, "This shows you the BJP's intentions. The Leader of the Opposition is restless to become the Chief Minister. I will just say this to him: There is no Eknath Shinde in the National Conference; the National Conference's MLAs are with it. The cabinet expansion is stalled because we haven't been granted statehood, not because of any fear. The Leader of Opposition here and his party engage in the politics of blackmail."
(With inputs from PTI, ANI)
