CHENNAI: A nearly 90-minute meeting between Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar and Union Home Minister Amit Shah has sparked speculation that they discussed the State's law-and-order situation. However, the Union Home Ministry described it as a routine meeting and said it did not involve submission of any law-and-order report.

The meeting, attended only by Arlekar and Shah, gains significance amid mounting political criticism of the C Joseph Vijay-led government over a series of incidents that have brought the State's law and order situation under scrutiny.

Speculation over the meeting comes against the backdrop of reports of eight murders on Deepavali, the killing of a Special Sub-Inspector of Police in Theni, prison break incidents and allegations of a rise in crimes against women and children. The growing drug menace in the State has also figured prominently in the political discourse.

The meeting also comes as Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay, who holds the Home portfolio, chairs a series of review meetings with senior police officials after criticism of the government's handling of law and order.

The timing has added to its political significance, with Opposition parties questioning the TVK government's response to public safety and policing incidents.