- 27 minutes ago
In Tamil Nadu, actor-politician Vijay’s TVK faces a political standoff as Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar demands proof of a 118-seat majority before government formation.
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00:02Good evening, hello and welcome. You're with the news today. This is your primetime destination news,
00:08newsmakers, talking points, our big talking point tonight. Why is the West Bengal governor,
00:14sorry, the Tamil Nadu governor, delaying the oath invite to Vijay? Among my special guests,
00:21Abhishek Manu Singhvi, who reportedly is among those advising behind the scenes,
00:26and Hari Salve will be also joining me, two top legal eagles on the show tonight.
00:33And we'll ask the question, who will end the cycle of violence in Bengal,
00:37as well as Suvendu Adhikari's aide is murdered. But we'll first start, as always, with the nine headlines at nine.
00:48Amidst continuing suspense over numbers, Tamil Nadu governor meets actor-politician Vijay again,
00:57tells him to show proof of majority before he can take oath as chief minister. Opposition parties from
01:04across the country slam the governor, say he is stalling the appointment of Vijay as chief minister.
01:15A day after there were rumors over an alliance between AIDMK and DMK, DMK MLAs unanimously passed a
01:23resolution to authorize MK's talent to take immediate and necessary political decisions for a stable
01:29government in Tamil Nadu. Resort politics kicks off in Tamil Nadu. EPS meets AIDMK MLAs camping in
01:40Puducherry. Senior AIDMK leaders dismiss reports of a possible split, claim all MLAs are standing
01:48behind Eep Phalan Nisamy.
01:53Moments before the chilling Kolkata shootout, two bikes seen chasing Suvendu Adhikari's assistance car,
02:01bike allegedly was used by the killers, is seized by the Bengal police. It is apparently a professional
02:07hit job. Mamta Banerjee is no longer the chief minister of Bengal. Governor Ravi dissolves the
02:16Bengal assembly. Earlier, she had refused to resign as chief minister, citing foul play by the election
02:22commission.
02:25PMC MP Mahua Moitra alleges harassment by a group of men on board an Indigo flight to Delhi.
02:31Heckler's chant, Jai Shree Ram. Video of the incident goes viral. Mamta Banerjee says,
02:38no fly. Order should be issued against those responsible.
02:46New Samrat Chaudhary cabinet in Bihar takes oath. Nitish Kumar's son, Nishant, sworn in along with 31
02:53other ministers. Prime Minister attends oath ceremony in Patna.
02:59In a global alert now over the Hanta virus, a rare but potentially deadly infection, WHO confirmed
03:06seven cases, says more cases may appear soon, but public health risk is low.
03:13One year of Operation Sindhoor. On this day last year, India had targeted and demolished
03:18nine terror hubs in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and Pakistan. Prime Minister changes his
03:22X-profile photo to Operation Sindhoor logo.
03:38Okay, let's turn to the big story that's breaking at the moment. E. Palani Sami, the former
03:44Tamil Nadu chief minister and AIDMK leader has now met a group of AIDMK MLAs in Puducherry.
03:52More than 25 MLAs are camping in resorts in Puducherry amidst reports that the AIDMK could
04:00even split and back actor-politician Vijay. Those claims have been denied by Palani Sami.
04:06Meanwhile, the DMK has passed a resolution authorizing Stalin to take decisions for a stable
04:11government in Tamil Nadu. VCK left parties are expected to take a decision whether they will
04:17support actor-politician Vijay's TVK tomorrow. So lots happening in Tamil Nadu, even as the
04:25suspense continues. Will actor-politician Vijay become chief minister or not? Joining me at the
04:30top is Akshita Nand Gopal. She's live in Chennai. Apoorwa Jai Chandran is in Puducherry,
04:36where, remember, there was resort politics are going on. But Akshita, what are you picking up?
04:42This afternoon, Vijay went, met the governor. Governor said, show me the numbers and I'll
04:47swear you in. As of now, Congress supporting him. What are you picking up? Will the left
04:52parties and VCK be able to take a decision tomorrow and take Vijay over the halfway line?
04:59You know, there are a lot of questions, Rajdeep, right now being asked on why the VCK and the
05:04left have been stalling for so long. What stopped them from taking a decision yesterday? What stopped
05:09them from taking a decision today? There's no clarity just yet. But we can tell you that the
05:15VCK and the left did meet with Stalin today. And that's also led to a lot of questions about
05:21whether they're planning to then express loyalty to the DMK alliance and not switch over. In case it
05:26doesn't happen, Rajdeep. And the VCK and the left say, look, we're going to stay with the DMK
05:32alliance. That puts the TVK in a real situation here because they don't have a plan B ultimately.
05:38With them allying with the Congress and reaching 112 right now, they're just short. And the PMK
05:44is not a party. TVK has confirmed to us that they've not reached out to either the PMK or AI
05:50-DMK.
05:51Essentially, the suggestion is that any party that's part of the NDA is a no-go at this point
05:57for TVK. So they're really putting all their eggs in one basket, hoping that the VCK and
06:01left come on board. We're hearing that by tomorrow evening, there'll be clarity, which is hoping
06:06that he will be sworn in. And that oath-taking ceremony, which has been planned now for the
06:10last many days, will ultimately happen on Saturday. But that is if, a big if there, if the governor
06:18gives the note.
06:19Okay, we'll wait and see what happens, what the left parties and the VCK do. I'll come to
06:26the numbers in a moment. But source is now telling us that there's a bit of drama going
06:30on in Puducherry because E. Palani Sami has asked his MLAs there to maintain resilience.
06:36He has affirmed there are no talks with the DMK, as was alleged. Reiterated that Vijay doesn't
06:42have a majority and in all likelihood will need AI-DMK support. He has instructed AI-DMK
06:47carders not to speak with TVK or be swayed by them. Remember, all of this is coming among
06:54reports that maybe the AI-DMK could split. Apurva, you've been there in those resorts speaking
06:59to these MLAs. Are these MLAs keen to join hands with Vijay, a section of the AI-DMK MLAs?
07:07Is that true? That's why they've been packed off to this resort in Puducherry?
07:16Well, Radhrib, in all likelihood, that has been the case here. 25 plus MLAs who are staying
07:22here in these resorts there. That is why there was an intervention that was called by
07:27Edapadi K. Palani Swami. He personally came down here led by, you know, Edapadi K. Palani
07:32Swami, KP Munaswami, SP Vailumani, who had arrived here, set the MLAs here in order, got them sorted
07:39into their hotel rooms and then left to Chennai, where he had went and met with EPS, explained
07:44that this is the situation. These MLAs are in all likelihood in touch with TVK and they are
07:50looking to be inclined towards joining TVK. Now, Edapadi Palani Swami has arrived here in
07:55Puducherry. He has had a talk that had gone on, lasted for almost over one hour. He has assured
08:01them that they need to maintain resilience. He's in fact told them the next four days, it's going to be
08:07difficult for them to remain silent, be away from TVK. But he said that there will be good news that
08:13they
08:13will expect in the next four days. And that's why until then keep mum, don't talk with media, don't
08:20talk to TVK, don't talk to anybody else, but just enjoy the life of luxury that AIA DMK is providing
08:27for you. And if you have any questions, you can directly reach out to me and I will answer any
08:32questions is what Edapadi has instructed these MLAs over here. Luxury life in a resort. So, Tamil Nadu,
08:40the latest Indian state to have restored politics. Enjoy the luxury of Puducherry Akshita and Apoorva
08:47joining me there at the very top. Remember, all of this is on a day when several meetings have
08:52taken place in and around Chennai. The fact is, actor-politician Vijay remains short of that magic
08:58number of 117. And the governor, Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar, a former BJP leader of Goa, appears to be
09:06drawing a clear line. He will not swear Vijayan without the signatures of all these MLAs. So,
09:13even as alliance talks intensify, the road to power is getting a little tougher. India Today reports
09:20two days, two meetings, one sticking point. Vijay can take oath only after he secures 118
09:42signatures of support. Vijay, who emerged as the biggest winner of this election,
09:47is now finding it difficult to get the requisite numbers to form the government in Tamil Nadu.
09:52The TVK chief met Tamil Nadu governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar for the second time in 24 hours
09:57on Thursday. Sources say the governor is not convinced that Vijay has the numbers.
10:03Lokbhavan sources added that Vijay was asked to come with 118 signatures
10:07and prove his majority before taking oath as chief minister.
10:12However, sources claim that the governor assured Vijay he would not invite any other party to form
10:17the government. The governor's stance has drawn sharp criticism from the Congress and even allies
10:22of the DMK. The governor is behaving like this, I don't know. Because whether he has been pressurized
10:28by his colleagues in the BJP, I don't know. Because BJP people have given in Tamil Nadu only one MLA.
10:35With one MLA, what BJP wants to do? They wanted to stop Mr. Vijay from being the chief minister of
10:41Tamil Nadu or whether they wanted to deny Tamil Nadu the right to elect their own people.
10:46This shows the BJP's arrogance.
11:07Meanwhile, over 25 AIDMK MLAs, led by AIDMK MPCV Shanmugam and MLA SP Velumani moved to a resort in
11:19party leader Erapadipalan Asami to strike an alliance with Vijay. The MLA's evaded questions on why they're camping
11:25in a resort.
11:35Smaller parties like VCK, CPM and CPI are likely to decide on an alliance with Vijay in the next couple
11:41of days. With the governor insisting on letters of support, the TVK chief may have to wait longer
11:47to take oath as the chief minister of Tamil Nadu.
11:59So what are the governor's options? The first option, obvious option, invite Vijay to form a
12:04government and prove his majority via floor test. Remember, no other party has taken a claim so far.
12:11Option two is ask, as he's doing at the moment, Vijay to first submit the letters of support
12:16from the smaller parties and then he will be sworn in. Option three is invite a post-pol coalition
12:24of AIDMK and AIDMK to prove their strength if, of course, the two parties are willing to have such
12:30a coalition. Option four importantly is to keep the house in suspended animation till government
12:35formation possible. The fifth option, president's rule, leading perhaps to fresh polls. Joining me
12:43now is Dr. Abhishek Manu Singhvi, senior Congress MP, eminent jurist is joining me. I appreciate
12:50your joining us, Dr. Singhvi. Which of these options? The governor is saying letters of support. He is
12:55following what KR Narayanan did between 97 and 2000, asked Atal Bihari Vajpayee to prove, to show him
13:03letters of support before he swore him as the prime minister at the time. This is the Narayanan test.
13:14Rajdeep, I hope you will give me a few minutes because your viewers need to know the truth. He has
13:18no
13:19option except the first. Invite the single largest party. It is deplorable and I have no hesitation to
13:26means my words. Condemnable and unprecedented that a person who is foreshort is not invited with no
13:35other party in Tamil Nadu even sticking a claim. Point one. Point two, you have today at least 10
13:44precedents. I have here with me right in front of me. I can't show it to you, your viewers, a
13:48letter of
13:4928th October 2014. Mr. Fadnavis was 22 seats short. Governor Vidya Sagar Rao invited him as the
13:58single largest party. Mr. Yedurappa with a letter of 16th May 2018, I also have it in front of me,
14:06was invited by then Governor Vijay, Vijay Bhai Wala with 10 seats short. He had 104 out of 224 and
14:13Fadnavis had 122 out of 288. So is this largest, this kindness reserved only for those who are BJP
14:19chief ministers to me? And let me tell you the Vajpayee example you gave. There is no such thing
14:24as a Narayanan test. Mr. Vajpayee, the gentleman that he was, staked a claim when he was 111 seats
14:33short because he was only the single largest. There was nobody else. He was given and he gracefully
14:39resigned after 13 days. Now remember, every governor has the inbuilt safeguard that when
14:44he calls upon the single largest, he will give him 10 to 15 days to show the majority. That majority
14:50has to be shown not on the floor of the governor's house. It has to be shown the floor test
14:54of the
14:55house. That is the assembly. And the governor is only one option. He can always say, you are claiming
15:01Mr. Vijay. Mr. Vijay is not hiding the fact. He's not saying I have 117. You are claiming 113.
15:05Show me the signature. Show me the MLA's if you want. Once he has 113, I repeat 113, which is
15:12not
15:12the majority mark. He must allow Mr. Vijay to show his majority within a reasonable time in 10, 12,
15:1915 days on the floor of the house. No, but you are saying that.
15:21Just a minute. No, no. I know it's happened. As you said, you've given two examples.
15:26Fatnavis is an example in Maharashtra. You've given the example also in Karnataka of Yadurappa,
15:32but Dr. Singhvi, the Narayanan, you're saying there's nothing like a Narayanan test. The fact
15:37is in 1998, Mr. Narayanan told Atal Biari Bajpayee, after what had happened in 1996, this time,
15:44please provide me letters of support before I invite you. So therefore, there is, there are
15:50precedents on both sides. There are precedents where governors have said we will invite single
15:55largest party. Others have waited to see if a pre-poll alliance can come and stake a claim.
16:00See, the Sarkaria Commission, four decades ago, put a simple hierarchy.
16:07Obviously, if a pre-poll alliance is there, this is the number one. Sarkaria Commission says number
16:13one in hierarchy. If there is no pre-poll alliance, he says single largest is number two.
16:19There is no pre-poll alliance other than the existing ones in Tamil Nadu.
16:23He then says that a post-poll alliance will be asked after the single largest. That's number
16:29three. Now, what is this whole game the governor is playing about minority government? This government
16:37will be a minority of four people till they approve their flow test. Do you know that Narasimha Rao,
16:42Congress Prime Minister, ruled for five years with 25 short. He was never a majority government.
16:48Do you know that Mr. Vajpayee gave me the example? And look at the law.
16:54Rameshwar is a Bihar judgment, a constitution which means five judges. Those who are interested
17:00and think that I'm fibbing or lying or speaking like a congressman may read Paras 65.
17:05It says that the single largest must be invited and that only the floor test will determine whether
17:14that single largest survives. Bhomai, which is nine judges in 1994, says the floor test is the best way.
17:22Now, I don't understand this self-imposed dilemma of the government, of the governor. What is he worried
17:28about 10-15 days? He doesn't prove his majority, he'll be out. No, no. The floor test argument is
17:32well taken that majority has to be proved on the floor of the house, not in the Raj Bhavan or
17:38the
17:38Lok Bhavan as it is called. But maybe the governor believes that this is a fluid situation and therefore,
17:45rather than risk, just a minute, rather than risk asking Vijay to prove his majority on the floor of
17:51the house, he would like to wait to see whether the AIDMK or DMK also approach him in the next
17:57couple of days and stake a claim to form a government. Are you telling me that that can only happen
18:02post facto, after Vijay is given his chance? As the single largest, he gets shot number one.
18:08Obviously and only. Obviously and only. No, no, because in Goa, for example, sir, in Goa, for example,
18:13in 2017, the Congress had the largest number of MLAs. In the meantime, before the Congress could even
18:22go and stake its claim, the BJP went and tied up with the independents and formed the government.
18:27Correct. So therefore, according to Sarkaria, even then the single largest must be asked, but forget that.
18:32If there was a post-poll alliance standing in front of the governor saying we have 120, 125, 135,
18:41I can understand that he has a dilemma. Where is that post-poll alliance? The governor's job is
18:48not to give a charter on the instructions of his nominator, the BJP central government, to create
18:54a stalemate for 15 days to invite people to have post-poll alliances. What happens to a public mandate?
18:59No, you're making a very similar, Dr. Singh, now you're making a serious political
19:02argument. You are claiming the governor is acting under the center's instructions to delay the
19:08swearing in of Vijay. 100%, 100%, I'll tell you why. Please tell me the governor has nobody's taking a claim.
19:15He doesn't even have a post-poll alliance, which is a lower hierarchy. He will not be allowed to wait
19:21for
19:2115 days saying, look, this field I've kept open for you. You, Mr. DMK, you, Mr. AIDMK join together.
19:27You, Mr. BJP, and you, Mr. AIDMK join together. And let's smell the coffee, Rajdeep. The AIDMK is a
19:35known open secret, is nothing but a proxy funded and managed by the BJP. The BJP wants to create
19:41uncertainty. They want to create a vacuum. They want the option of even having a suspended animation,
19:47your option four. And God forbid, after a mandate in an election, which has happened hardly a few days ago,
19:53you may even have residence rule. This is the character today of governorship without any regard to
20:01constitutional spirit, legacy or heritage, on governors who do not pass bills for two years. You had that
20:07example after 2014 in more than four states, of governors who don't give address to the assembly when
20:12the assembly meets in the first time, of anti-federal governors. So you have it. I'm not speaking out of
20:18the air.
20:18You have had all these examples after 2014 only. When did you have this example prior to 2014? Tell me.
20:25Sir, sir, sir, sir. Now you are going to get into trouble waters. You remember what happened in
20:30Indira Gandhi's time when Ramlal asked for a parade of NTR's MLA's famously. So let's not even go down
20:37what used to happen in the 1980s. No, no, that's alright. So that was condemned. That was condemned.
20:42And NTR got a thumping majority. I'm not supporting it. If Mr. Ramlal did something wrong, I'm not supporting it.
20:48It would be water boundary for me to support it. Today, what he's doing is, he's saying,
20:54I'm going to give myself sufficient time to tie myself up in knots and to myself create a dilemma
21:01for myself when none exists. Okay. I've got it. Dr. Singhvi, as I said,
21:06Abhishek Singhvi, why does Abhishek come angry? Now, I don't know whether you are advising Vijay or not
21:11in this case, but I appreciate you joining us and making it very clear. You believe
21:16single largest party must be invited by the governor. There can be no prevarication,
21:22particularly because no other pre-poll or even post-poll alliance has staked a claim to form a
21:28government. So therefore, there is only one contender at the moment and he should be given...
21:33The governor cannot be in the business, Rajdeep, of allowing time or facilitating those who have lost
21:39the election to form post-poll alliances and then come or create a president's rule situation and
21:44then get somebody else later on. This is not the way democracy works. This is not the spirit of
21:49democracy. You have to be a graceful loser. And as far as I know, today there's a very statesman-like
21:54statement from DMK. I'm not sure. It may be subject to correction. They said that the public mandate is
22:00for Vijay. We will not interfere and do nitpicking for six months. That's the spirit of democracy.
22:06I've taken your point, Dr. Singh. We appreciate you joining us here on the show tonight. We'll have
22:11another fine legal mind joining me in a moment. The former Solicitor General of the country,
22:17Harish Salve, will also join us. Just also, let's tell you what are Vijay's roots to power. I think it's
22:24important to know this and this is crucial numbers. Vijay, remember, has won from two seats himself.
22:32So, he's 108. We count as 107. The Congress has five. That makes it 112. Now, he needs to get
22:41some
22:41of the other allies of the DMK. The CPM has two. The CPI has two. They are meeting tomorrow. That
22:48would
22:48make it 116. If the VCK also supports him, they become 118. So, there you have, how can Vijay form
22:57a government? How does he go up as high as 121? That's if all the DMK allies now desert him
23:04and a
23:05government can be formed. So, that is Vijay's root to power as we are calling it at the moment. The
23:13DMK,
23:14if it loses its allies, if they switch to the TVK, you could actually have a government. Vijay's
23:21root to power lies in now getting those smaller parties in the next 48 hours and calling a summer
23:28saying the governor out for not having given him the chance so far. Okay, remember, these are
23:35scenarios, the various scenarios. That was scenario one. What is scenario two? Scenario two, of course,
23:41would be a split in the AIDMK. Two-thirds of the AIDMK MLAs, that is 32 would be two-thirds,
23:49merged with the TVK. This would take the total to 144. This is similar to what happened to the
23:55ARP recently in the Rajya Sabha when Raghav Chadha and six others merged with the BJP. Contentious,
24:01but it can also be seen as a possibility. So, you've got various kinds of possibilities
24:08playing out at the moment. And there's scenario three. The DMK abstains when the voting takes
24:15place in the assembly. This would bring down the majority mark to 88. In this scenario, Vijay would
24:22just need the Congress's party support. But remember, he will first in all these scenarios have to get
24:30a governor to actually invite him. Big questions. Why the delay to invite Vijay? What really,
24:37which option is the preferred one? Is this all a bid to deny Vijay a shot at par? And is
24:43the center
24:43behind it? As Vijay rattled Dravida parties, is the BJP desperate to keep Vijay away from the Congress?
24:52These are some of the questions I'm going to raise. Kasturi Shankar, BJP leader joining me. Narayan
24:56Lakshman, opinion editor, the Hindu with us. S. Murali Dharan, political analyst and R. Raj Gopal, BJP
25:02Tamil Nadu. Yeah, let's go to Murali Dharan first. Your first reaction, Mr. Murali Dharan. Do you believe
25:08that all of this is a desperate bid to keep Vijay out of par and who is behind it?
25:16It looks like, Rajiv, and one is, see, if you ask my personal opinion, not as a supporter of TVK
25:26or
25:26whatever. See, Congress jumped the gun. That's what I think. Congress did not have 15, 20 seats to come
25:33and say that we're going to support you. But they jumped the gun. They ditched DMK very badly. They
25:39didn't even take their consent. They jumped the gun and said, we're going to join you. Five of our
25:44MLA's will join you. And the only condition is you should not take anybody from the ADA.
25:49That was the condition. Now, that definitely hurt DMK. More than that, BJP, who keeps talking about
25:57Congress Mukt Bharat, okay, they have lost three of the states to Congress. So they're not going to sit
26:05idle when they see that Congress is going to come into another state through the back door. So
26:13obviously, they're not going to be, you know, I mean, see, this is politics. This is not a game of
26:17sport
26:18that, you know, you expect sportsmanship from BJP or from Congress. They're going to, you know,
26:23fight for the bone of flesh. So whatever's happening. And having said that, we also have to understand,
26:28uh, in the 2024 parliamentary election, uh, with due respect to senior, uh, learned senior, Mr. Manu Singhvi,
26:35uh, the de-due and the, uh, I think the, uh, telling of this, um, both of them had to
26:41give their support in writing.
26:44Right? Okay. So, you know, we can, I take your point, but you're saying once the Congress jumped the gun,
26:50or what you're saying jumped the gun, decided to support BJ, the BJP got hyperactive
26:55and decided they would try to prevent it from happening. That's your view at the moment.
26:59Our, uh, Raj Gopal BJP is Tamil Nadu's spokesperson. Is that true?
27:05Yeah, that's right. I'm actually, uh, yeah, I'm a retired IAS officer now, uh, serving in the BJP. That's right.
27:13So tell me, do you believe that the BJP is trying to stop Vijay from, uh, tying up with the
27:18Congress and therefore
27:20has told the governor, do not invite Vijay to form a government? Do you go along with that,
27:24or is that a conspiracy theory?
27:28No, it's an absolutely, uh, it's a wrong way to look at it. And, uh, I'm surprised that, uh,
27:35Mr. Singhvi was speaking more like a congressman rather than as a lawyer.
27:39Now, it's very clear in the constitution that the governor will have to satisfy himself
27:44that the person who's taking his claim to form the government
27:49will have a reasonable opportunity to be able to prove his majority on the floor of the house.
27:55Unfortunately, Mr. Vijay has not been able to list out 118 MLAs.
28:03Sir, with due, sir, with due regard, with due regard, with due regard, the governor in Karnataka
28:09did not ask Mr. Yedirappa that same question in 2018. Please give me, please show me how are you
28:15going to, uh, uh, prove your support. The government, he gave him a chance to prove his majority on the
28:19floor of the house and the government fell. So you can have one rule from Karnataka and a different
28:25rule from, for Tamil Nadu. Not exactly. But I think we go by the constitution, number one. Number two,
28:33here you don't have... How is it not exactly? It's exactly the same. It's exactly the same.
28:37How is it? How is it not? In fact, at least, at least Vijay, at least Vijay has got one
28:42major ally
28:43to support him. Mr. Yedirappa had no one. Despite that, the governor then invited Mr. Yedirappa. Is there
28:49a different rule when there is a BJP chief minister and when there is an opposition chief minister like
28:53Vijay? You see, every party here has been tied to an alliance. Every party which has won seats
29:02this time in the elections is tied to an alliance or it is Mr. Vijay. Now, if Mr. Vijay has
29:11to get support,
29:12he's not going to get the support of any one big alliance group. He has to break away parties from
29:19the alliance. Now, how would that be possible? It would be possible if Mr. Vijay becomes the CM and then
29:26there would be horse trading. And that's exactly what the governor does not want.
29:31And because he wants to prevent this from happening, the governor has said, please give me the names of
29:37the 118 MLA's.
29:40Majority is not supposed to be proven in the Raj Bhavan. It has to be proven on the floor of
29:44the
29:44house. You're saying, therefore, this is to prevent horse trading. That's a point, Mr. Muralidaran.
29:49According to Mr. Raj Gopal, that if Vijay is allowed to be sworn in tomorrow morning, then there will be
29:54horse trading, attempt to break MLA. That's why AIDMK and MLAs have been taken to a resort in
30:00Puducherry. The governor is trying to avoid horse trading. Your response?
30:04My response, Rajdeep, the Congress and BJP better watch out. Two Dravidian parties who have ruled this
30:11land for several decades are not going to sit tight and wait for Vijay to completely throw them out of
30:18or send them to political sanyas. That's how it looks like for the next 15, 20 years. They will
30:24never be able to come to power if they let Vijay rule now. So they're not going to sit tight
30:30at
30:30whatever the rumors they're talking about. They're trying to push Mr. Hedapani as the GM and DMK trying
30:36to back them up. That's another possibility. And this is not going to get over by tomorrow. I can tell
30:42you that much. And these guys, they know for sure that they're there. I think the DMK is only
30:49conviction is they want to make Mr. Uteni the Stalin the next chief minister. So at least,
30:56you know, he'll get a deputy chief minister post if a head of party becomes chief minister.
31:01No, are you saying, are you saying that there is a real possibility of AIDMK, DMK tying up if this
31:06carries on for a few more days? Yes, because for the next 15 years, otherwise they'll never come to
31:11power. That's the problem. People have understood that. No, but the mandate clearly was not
31:18for that. You see, Mr. Raj Gopal, there are those already saying the optics are terrible. This is
31:23this is seemingly an attempt to steal a mandate. Someone is 107. The other two parties are half of
31:30that. And rather than invite the party, which is single largest attempts are being made to give
31:36opportunity to the others to try and form a government. Isn't that stealing the mandate of
31:40the people? The mandate is for Vijay. I think we have to look at it from the point of view
31:48of the
31:49constitution. If Mr. Vijay had given the names of 118 MLAs, automatically the matter would have gone
31:56on to the assembly and he would have had the opportunity to prove his majority on the floor
32:01of the house. The question here is, he has not been able to list out names of 118 MLAs and
32:07that's
32:08precisely what the governor wants him to. Because he is not able to give the names of 118 MLAs who
32:14are
32:14supporting him, he is not in a position to prove his majority. So, the governor…
32:19Mr. Yadvirappa never gave the numbers. Mr. Yadvirappa never gave any numbers. I come back to it.
32:24You know, even in Goa, for example, even in Goa, for example, it was almost as if the governor
32:32was waiting for the BJP to cobble together a majority to prevent the single largest party.
32:39This has happened in several states now, Mr. Raj Gopal, that it seemed that the governor's office,
32:44the Raj Bhavan has different rules. Different rules when there is a BJP attempt to stake power and when
32:49the opposition is involved. Where is the constitution in all of this? Then there should be uniform rules.
32:57Mr. Raj Gopal, I think the point is very clear that this governor is going on the basis of
33:02what the constitution says, number one. Number two, we don't have any independents here
33:08in this election who have won. If you had maybe one or two independents,
33:13and maybe they could have given their letter of support to Vijay. Now, the question is here,
33:18it's a political party. Each political party has to take a decision on behalf of the party.
33:23Otherwise, you would have the anti-defection law coming into operation. None of the parties has
33:28given a letter of support to Vijay except the Congress. So, which makes it very clear that
33:33none of the other political parties is willing to support him. In this position, how can the governor
33:38invite him to form the government? But do you, what is the role of the BJP? Is the role of
33:43the BJP
33:44to prevent Vijay from forming a government? Are you worried that a Congress-Vijay combination
33:50could sweep Tamil Nadu particularly in 2029? That's the fear.
33:56I am actually talking more as a constitutional expert or whatever you may say, a constitutional
34:03interpreter. No, no, no. I am not here talking politics.
34:08Are you saying… I am not here talking politics because…
34:11You are not talking politics, but you are a… you know, you are someone associated with the
34:14political party. Is the BJP's main aim to stop Vijay Congress from coming together
34:19because they could sweep the next election in Tamil Nadu and Lok Sabha?
34:23It's not… not… not… not at all. Not at all. I think the governor is just acting as the custodian
34:30of the constitution and that's all. I don't think we should read into it beyond that.
34:35Okay. I am going to give a final word to you, Mr. Muddhi Dharan, before we move on. What's your
34:40view?
34:40Is this all part of a political game or am I reading too much into it?
34:45It is… it is a political game, Rajiv. I think all said and done. This is a historic verdict. Nobody
34:51has just
34:51come into politics and, you know, secured almost a majority and the people are fed up. People want
34:57the change and they were waiting for Rajnikanth to come in. He did not. He chickened out, but Vijay has
35:02taken the plunge and he has promised to deliver whatever Rajnikanth wanted to deliver.
35:07A corruption-free government said that's the case and they should respect the people's mandate
35:12and almost 35% of people. So, I think they should respect the people's mandate and let him be the
35:18chief
35:20minister.
35:20You know, I appreciate my guests joining us with two very different viewpoints. We'll try and go back
35:26to Harish Salve, who's expected to join us in about five minutes or so. But I appreciate both of you
35:31joining me on the show tonight. Before that, I want to turn to the other big story, which is coming
35:35from
35:35West Bengal, where there is blood on the streets of that state just a couple of days after that massive
35:41mandate the BJP received. Bullets after ballots. Late last night, a close aide of Suvendu Adikari,
35:48the likely BJP chief ministerial choice, was gunned down near Kolkata. Police suspect it was a cold-blooded
35:55pre-planned hit. Nearly 10 rounds were fired at point-blank range, fake number plates, escape routes.
36:01And with political tensions rising and fresh violence reported across several districts,
36:06India Today has this report.
36:21Blood on Bengal streets.
36:31Just days after the explosive election battle, BJP MLA elect Suvendu Adikari's close aide Chandranath
36:37Roth was gunned down in Kolkata in what police suspect was a cold-blooded, pre-planned assassination.
36:49At around 10.20 pm on Wednesday in Modhyamgram, Chandranath was heading home when bikers and a
36:55silver-coloured car allegedly began tailing his Suv. Later, the vehicle blocked his path.
37:01Bike-borne gunmen approached the Suv and then came a burst of bullets.
37:10Investigators say nearly 10 rounds were fired at point-blank range.
37:14Chandranath was hit in the head and the chest and collapsed inside the car.
37:19He was declared dead at the hospital. The driver remains critical.
37:26It was a point-blank attack on the window pane, which has now been turned into shambles. It has now,
37:33you know, been broken. Front seat on left-hand side, Chandranath Roy was sitting,
37:39up. Though the person who was driving has also been shot, we can also see the blood
37:44stains on the driver's seat of this car.
37:48The police, you know, DGP again came. It was a pre-planned murder. It was a lot of incident.
37:55It was a lot of incident. It was a lot of incident. It was a lot of incident. It was
38:00a personal loss.
38:01There was a lot of incident. It took the blood to death. It was a lot of incident. It was
38:14a lot of incident.
38:42Sources say an Austrian-made Glock pistol may have been used.
38:46Fake number plates, bikes without registration numbers and a mapped escape route all pointing
38:51to a coordinated execution.
38:53A massive manhunt is now underway.
38:56An SIT headed by an IG-ranked officer has been formed.
39:00Sources say the security of Shubindo Adhikari is likely to be upgraded soon.
39:07On April 30th, during the Bhavanipur strongroom flashpoint, Chandra had openly confronted
39:12the police, opposed Mamata Banerjee's entry near the strongroom and let BJP protest in
39:17Shubindo's absence.
39:22BJP has alleged a massive conspiracy involving Mamata Banerjee and her nephew Abhishek.
39:42The General Congress is hit back accusing BJP of fueling post-pol violence and demanding
39:47a CBI probe.
40:05The big question now remains, has Bengal's ballot battle once again turned into a bloody
40:10war for survival.
40:12With Piyush Mishra in Kolkata, Bureau Report, India Today.
40:21So let's look at Suvendu Adhikari, a pattern that has emerged.
40:26Suvendu Adhikari's aides, many of them have in a sense been died in mysterious circumstances.
40:33In 2013, personal assistant Pradeep Jha died in mysterious circumstances.
40:38In 2018, an ex-bodyguard, Shubhra Prato Chakrabarti also died similarly.
40:43In 2026, personal assistant Chandranath Nath is murdered.
40:48I want to go straight across to our correspondent who joins us, Indrajit Kundu, our Kolkata Bureau
40:53Chief.
40:54Indrajit, this is a shocker that took place late last night.
40:57The police seems to suggest it's pre-planned.
41:00What more are they saying?
41:04Who do they suspect is behind this kind of murder of Suvendu Adhikari's close aid?
41:10Well, the police have begun investigation and SIT has been formed with CID officials in
41:17it.
41:17Three people were apprehended.
41:19They were detained for questioning.
41:21The police is scanning the CCTV footages.
41:24The post-mortem has been conducted.
41:26And there are some clues that the police have got, given that one of the vehicles that
41:32was used in this entire act, that was confiscated, that has been seized.
41:36It was using a fake number plate that was replicating the number plate of another vehicle
41:42that has now been traced to Siliguri in North Bengal.
41:45A very sophisticated firearm has been used.
41:48All these suggest that this was a well-planned operation.
41:51Somebody must have given a supari to kill Chandranath Rock.
41:55But it's not clear as to what exactly could be the motive.
41:58But this entire incident has eventually triggered a huge political row.
42:03The Trinimal Congress on its part is seeking a CBI investigation, court-monitored CBI investigation.
42:09And Suvendu Adhikari, of course, said that all this is a result of the fact that he has defeated
42:15Mamata Banerjee at Bhawanipur.
42:17So, the political tug of war escalates even as…
42:20So, is he directly accusing Mamata Banerjee of being behind this murder?
42:24Well, at least the BJP leadership is saying so.
42:27They are saying that, you know, it is the handiwork of the Trinimal Congress.
42:31But the Trinimal Congress says that they are not involved in this
42:34and they are demanding a court-monitored CBI investigation.
42:37This, of course, has blown out of proportion specifically because of the fact
42:41that here is a person, a 42-year-old, who was a close aide of Suvendu Adhikari
42:46and he has been gunned out just on the outskirts of Kolkata,
42:5048 hours before the swearing-in ceremony takes place in Bengal in all probability
42:55and Suvendu Adhikari remains a front-runner to become the Chief Minister.
42:58Okay, I'm going to leave it there, Indujit Kundu.
43:01Of course, we'll wait and see what the police is able to tell us for now.
43:05It seems they say this was pre-planned, that they have identified the bike,
43:10which was responsible, the number plate.
43:13And we'll wait and see how that plays out in West Bengal.
43:16Now, let's turn from there to the other election state,
43:19because nearly four days after the Congress-led UDF swept back to power in Kerala,
43:23suspense continues over who will be the next Chief Minister.
43:27The Congress is expected to announce its Chief Minister face by Sunday
43:30after consultations took place today with AICC observers Mukul Vasani,
43:35and Ajay Markan, who attended a Congress legislature party meeting in Thiruvananthapuram.
43:42The observers have wrapped up their meeting,
43:44including meeting alliance partners of the Congress before heading back to Delhi.
43:50CLP typically has authorized the Congress High Command to choose the next Chief Minister.
43:56Three names still at the centre of the race,
43:58V.D. Satishan, the face of the Congress campaign,
44:01K.C. Venugopal, the High Command's all-powerful key troubleshooter,
44:05and veteran leader Ramesh Chenitala, a former Home Minister of the State.
44:11Listen in to what Mukul Vasaniq said.
44:13The Congress has been directed to the state of the Congress.
44:22The Congress has been directed here to the state of the Congress,
44:29of the government and territory of the Первый State.
44:33The Congress has directed a place to be united,
44:41which is the Congress,
44:42which is the President and General Ban.
44:43I have a whole of it.
44:46I am going to be the only one who is here.
44:51I am going to be the only one who is here.
44:56I am going to submit a message to the people who are here.
45:01The MLS should be taken and other leaders should be taken.
45:06That is a wonderful, resounding victory.
45:09That is people's victory.
45:11People's victory.
45:12People wanted a change. See, one of them will become, one of them will become, that will be selected by
45:18taking the views of the MLS and others. That will be taken by the high command.
45:25Whatever my opinion, I have told you, I am the part of the high command. Whatever high command has been
45:29taken decision, I am obeyed with the high command.
45:31All the MLS have been happy, sir. All the MLS have been happy, sir.
45:33That I don't know. How can I say?
45:35Okay, I want to go straight across to Shibi, our correspondent there in Thiruvananthapuram.
45:40There are three names doing the rounds. Satishan, Chenitala and KC Venugopal.
45:46What are you picking up from speaking to the MLAs? Who is their preferred choice and what's really at stake
45:53here?
45:57Well, Rajdeep, what we are understanding is that the MLA support, KC Venugopal has a lead when it comes to
46:03the MLA support.
46:04Because most of them have given their support to KC Venugopal is what we are understanding.
46:08In fact, that was a pre-considered move also.
46:11Because when the tickets were distributed also, most of them were, most of the tickets were given to KC Venugopal's
46:16people.
46:16So that's one of the reasons they took a lot of time to declare the candidates also.
46:20But usually Congress do not take the consideration of the alliance partners in deciding the Chief Minister.
46:25But this time they called all the alliance partners to Thiruvananthapuram.
46:28They held a meeting, the observers held a meeting with all the alliance partners.
46:31Because they do realise there is a sentiment among the public that is in favour of VD Satishan.
46:37The man who led the party to thumping victory that even the Congress election strategist team also did not expect.
46:44So they do realise this public sentiment.
46:46And also if KC Venugopal is chosen, there will be a by-election in the state in the next six
46:49months.
46:50So will Congress be able to clear that, considering that it has upset the people as well as the supporters?
46:55That is also something that the observers in the High Command is considering.
46:58And if KC Venugopal doesn't become, then Ramesh Chenitala's case will also be very seriously taken up by the High
47:03Command is what we are learning right now.
47:05Okay, so there are three in the race.
47:07Typically, in the Congress party, you never know what the High Command decides.
47:11VD Satishan, KC Venugopal and Ramesh Chenitala, all in the race to become Chief Minister of Kerala.
47:19It's a village just 25 kilometres away from Jamshedpur, which is struggling for basic water.
47:25In Bota, tribal families still depend on stream water, one pot per household.
47:3115 years now, no relief, despite repeated pleas.
47:35Tonight's Get Real India story from Anoop Sina.
47:48Bota village, just 25 kilometres from Jamshedpur in Jharkhand.
47:54Home to tribal communities.
47:56Completely forgotten by the state.
47:59For the last 15 years, the villagers here have had no choice but to drink water from a nearby stream.
48:20They dig small pits, called chua, alongside the stream.
48:25Filter the water through small vessels and carry it home in pots or handis.
48:31One handi per household.
48:33This is all they get.
48:56Villagers claim their pleas were ignored every single time.
49:18In a state where tribal welfare is a political rallying cry every election season,
49:24Bota stands as a damning indictment of the gap between promise and delivery.
49:31With Anupam Sina, Bureau Report, India Today.
49:37From there, let's turn to a happier story.
49:39Our good news today story.
49:40We meet Vijaypal Baghel.
49:42He's earned himself the nickname Green Man after two decades of environment activism
49:47that saw him planting thousands of trees across the country.
49:51Take a look.
49:58Vijaypal Baghel is literally the green man he is known as.
50:02He wears his activism on his sleeve.
50:05From his shoes to his clothes, everything is green.
50:09His purpose of life for the last two decades has been saving the environment.
50:14Baghel started his campaign 25 years ago in Ghaziabad.
50:30Baghel says he has saved hundreds of thousands of trees from being felt
50:35and spare-headed large-scale tree plantation tribes across the nation.
50:39He established a city forest covering 156 acres in Ghaziabad.
50:43The whole world, the whole world, the whole city of heat wave and global warming
50:48is humans.
50:50The global problem this actually grows.
50:54Because the whole reality is less than it.
50:56We have taken notice from childhood that the situation will end of the future.
51:00The solution will be privileges of the nation.
51:02The problem is building green cover.
51:04The problem is increasing in the future.
51:07The problem is in the future where the problem is growing.
51:11The problem is now growing.
51:13It was a childhood conversation with his grandfather that later inspired him to become an environment activist.
51:46Bagel's resolve to save trees has transformed into a movement, with many citizens joining hands with him.
51:53With Manish Chorasiya, Bureau Report, India Today.
52:04Okay, let's return from there to our top story.
52:06We promised we'd get Harish Salve also on that big question.
52:09What should the Tamil Nadu governor be doing?
52:13Appreciate your joining us, Mr. Salve.
52:15What's your view?
52:16Do you believe that the Tamil Nadu governor should wait for letters of support before inviting Vijay to become chief
52:24minister or swear him in?
52:25Or should he go by the fact that he's the single largest party?
52:31Rajdeep, since you're an old friend, I can tease you.
52:36If you ask the wrong question, you get to the wrong answer.
52:40The question which I'm asking myself is that if the governor has asked for letters of support before giving him
52:52a break,
52:52or giving him a chance to form the government, has he acted unconstitutionally, the answer is no.
52:58What the governor should do is in his wisdom.
53:03Should the governor have straight away allowed him to form a government?
53:07Maybe, maybe not.
53:09Should the governor...
53:10What the governor can't do, I can tell you clearly.
53:15The governor has rightly not invited the AIDMK or the DMK to form the government, rightly.
53:22The governor has not, hopefully, because I don't know what he has asked Mr. Vijay to do.
53:28The governor cannot conduct a floor test on the floor of the Raghavan.
53:33A floor test can only be on the floor of the Assembly.
53:36Now, between these two, the governor has to satisfy himself that there is a reasonable prospect of the government which
53:43is being sworn in to enjoy the confidence of the House.
53:48How a governor satisfies himself, unless he is acting in an extraordinary fashion, has to be left to the governor.
53:56So, if the governor says, I would rather see, I would want to see something more than just border assertions.
54:02I am not happy with the fact that your first supporter actually fought the election against you as an ally
54:09of another party.
54:10Maybe they can support you.
54:11I want something in writing.
54:13Some other groups are saying they will support you.
54:15Get something in writing.
54:16I don't know.
54:17I wish I was a flower on the wall.
54:19I wish you were a flower on the wall.
54:22Sir, the reason I am asking you, governors have taken different stands in different situations.
54:26In Karnataka, Mr. Yedir Appa was allowed to form a government without having to show the numbers.
54:30There have been other cases where governors or presidents have asked for letters of support to Mr. Vajpayee.
54:36Are you saying there is no standard principle?
54:38Because now what you could do, you could keep it pending and tomorrow give enough time to the DMK and
54:44AIDMK to cobble together a government?
54:46Well, if, see, this is where we, as a student of constitutional law, this is where we say your action,
54:54if it is bona fide, can be one of many choices.
54:59What Mr. Vajpayee was asked to do was a valid exercise of constitutional power.
55:04Bring me letters.
55:05Maybe in the circumstances, Yedir Appa being invited to form the government was a valid exercise of power.
55:12Both are valid.
55:14But if you are deliberately delaying so that some other group can cobble together and defeat the single largest party,
55:26your action will be judged as being malafide.
55:31You're making an important point.
55:33Sir, you're making an important point.
55:36If the governor gives enough time to the DMK, AIDMK to cobble together a majority and prevents Vijay as the
55:42single largest party from showing those letters of support, you believe that is malafide.
55:47Am I correct?
55:48It could be argued strongly that the conduct is not consistent.
55:54See, what is the definition of malafide in the context of constitutional law?
55:59You're exercising a power not for the purpose for which it was given.
56:04So the purpose of this power of the governor is buna fide, satisfy yourself.
56:10Today we have one fact which is not deniable.
56:15In a remarkable show of political popularity, it's an amazing thing which happens.
56:22I love Indian democracy for this.
56:24The way the people have shown the mandate.
56:26Unfortunately, this debutant was not able to cross the middle, the midpoint.
56:33I wish he had.
56:34We wouldn't have had this conversation today.
56:36It would have been such a wonderful thing.
56:37No, sir.
56:38We are having this conversation with due regard because Lok Bhavans or Raj Bhavans are increasingly seen to be politically
56:44partisan.
56:45That's the problem.
56:46That there should be some kind of uniformity in the rules that they make.
56:51You can't have different rules for Karnataka and different rules for Tamil Nadu.
56:55See, there is something called constitutional discretion.
56:59I completely agree with you.
57:03Your point resonates that the way governors have conducted themselves, I'm not talking of His Excellency, the governor of Tamil
57:10Nadu, the way the office of the governor has been.
57:13We've had expert constitutional committee reports, which have examined the role of the governor in the states.
57:18We've had union government dismissing governments for purposes which the Supreme Court has found to be illegal or rather unconstitutional.
57:29So we have had all our institutions being challenged.
57:34If you are having a debate, and it's a debate for another day, on various areas where the governors should
57:41improve and governors should bring greater rectitude in their conduct, I agree with you.
57:47But do we today say we will not trust the institution of governors, the constitution being what it is, in
57:56exercise of discretion,
57:57the moment the governor says something which may militate against what you or I think he should be doing.
58:04Okay, I get your point.
58:06You're saying there's substantial discretion that the governor has, but his action should not and not be seen to be
58:14malefide at any cost.
58:15I appreciate Harish Salve, you joining me on the show tonight.
58:20Thank you very much.
58:21I'm going to leave it there.
58:23That was the news today.
58:25Thanks for watching, the news without the noise.
58:28Up next, Maria Shakir.
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