"It is an artificial crisis": Mukul Rohatgi says governor should have invited Vijay to form govt

In an interview with ANI on the Tamil Nadu political situation, Rohatgi said, "It is not a constitutional crisis situation, according to me; it is an artificial crisis."

By Sushil Batra Senior Advocate and former Attorney General of India Mukul Rohatgi has termed the ongoing political deadlock in Tamil Nadu an "artificial crisis", saying the Governor should have invited TVK chief Vijay to form the government immediately after the election results.

In an interview with ANI on the Tamil Nadu political situation, Rohatgi said, "It is not a constitutional crisis situation, according to me; it is an artificial crisis." He said that as the leader of the single largest party, Vijay should have been asked by Governor RV Arlekar "on day one" to form the government, even if his party was short of the majority mark.

"Even if he was ten short of the magic number, it did not matter. It is settled law, through constitutional conventions, that the leader of the largest party is called. He is allowed to gather support and form a stable government within one or two weeks," Rohatgi said. According to him, constitutional practice in India has consistently allowed the single largest party an opportunity to prove its majority on the floor of the House. He added that there have been instances where parties initially short of numbers later secured enough support to continue in office.

Rohatgi cited the example of former Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao, saying even minority governments can survive if other parties abstain during confidence votes. "The problem now is that the Governor is creating a crisis by assuming the role of the Assembly, demanding proof of 118 or whatever the number is. That is completely wrong," he said.

He further said that neither fresh elections nor President's Rule would be desirable after such a large electoral exercise. "Thousands of crores are spent on elections, with immense manpower and hours invested. Then they say that a person who has 108 or 110 seats is not to be given a chance. It has never happened," Rohatgi added.

The remarks come amid a continuing stalemate over government formation in Tamil Nadu. Actor-turned-politician Vijay met Governor Arlekar on Friday for the third time in as many days and staked a claim to form the government. According to reports, Vijay has not yet been invited to take oath as Chief Minister as he has allegedly failed to demonstrate the support of 118 MLAs, the majority mark in the 234-member Assembly.

In the recent Assembly elections, Vijay's Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam emerged as the single largest party with 108 seats. The Congress has extended support through its five MLAs, while Left parties have added four more legislators, taking the alliance strength to 116. The support of the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi, which has two MLAs, is now being closely watched as it could help Vijay cross the majority mark. (ANI)