Budget or floor test? Governor to decide

The move comes amid demands by opposition parties that Governor Banwarilal Purohit should not allow the state government to convene the budget session of the Assembly before proving its majority through a floor test. However, the government could face obstacles if Purohit accepts Oppositions’ demand and insists on not holding the session before winning the floor test. 

All parties, including the AIADMK, DMK and supporters of Dinakaran, eagerly await the High Court judgment on the disqualification of 18 MLAs. One of the disqualified MLAs Thangathamizhselvan said, “We expected the verdict to come out in the third week of this month. Once we enter the Assembly, the government will collapse, if they do not agree to our compromise formula”. 

The Dinakaran group is demanding the removal of Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami, deputy CM OPS, ministers P Thangamani, SP Velumani, D Jayakumar and KC Veeramani. One of the functionaries said the ruling party had the option of convening the Assembly in the third week of February itself instead of March. 

Only a gap of 15 days is needed between the Union budget and state budget, he said, adding, the state government had the option of presenting its budget anytime after February 16.