VCK leader claims "Governor said he can't intervene in AIADMK matter

"Governor Rao told us that under the present circumstances he cannot intervene and the law does not give room for it," he told reporters after meeting the governor.

The Raj Bhavan, however, has so far not issued any communique on what transpired at the meeting in which the leaders submitted a joint letter to Rao urging him to direct Palaniswami to seek a confidence vote.

Flanked by state Left party leaders, Thirumavalavan claimed that the governor had told them that the 19 MLAs who had sought the ouster of Palaniswami during their August 22 meeting belonged to the AIADMK and it cannot be construed that as his regime was losing majority.

Besides the VCK leader, the delegation comprised state secretary of the CPI(M), G Ramakrishnan; CPI's R Mutharasan and MMK chief M H Jawahirullah.

Their meeting with Rao comes in the wake of the MLAs loyal to sidelined AIADMK deputy chief TTV Dinakaran calling on the governor on August 22 and expressing lack of confidence in the chief minister.

The MLAs had revolted a day after the merger of the two factions led by Palaniswami and O Panneerselvam, who has been appointed deputy chief minister as per an agreement for the unification.

On August 27, a joint delegation of the DMK and the Congress had met the governor and sought a floor test, claiming that the state government has been reduced to a minority.

In his reaction to Thirmavalavan's remarks, DMK's working president MK Stalin said he was "surprised" and "shocked."

Referring to the VCK leader's claim, he said it would be the "dark pages of democracy," if the governor did not fulfil his Constitutional duties.

The DMK, which has written two letters to Rao on the matter, has said that it would approach the President and court if their plea was not met.

In their letter to Rao, the VCK-Left parties' delegation said, "To resolve the prevailing political uncertainty, instability... the Assembly must be urgently convened and Chief Minister Palaniswami must prove majority on the floor of the House."

Earlier in the day, Dinakaran said he was confident that Rao would take a good decision.

Stalin alleged that the BJP was trying to "utilise" the political situation for a backdoor "political debut" in the state.

State BJP chief Tamilisai Soundararajan said she wondered how the AIADMK issue involved the governor. "This is a party issue, what is the role of the governor... if parties want the governor to act according to their whims and fancies, it is not possible," she added.