BJP Tamil Nadu Urges Governor to Act Over Non-Ministers in Cabinet Meeting
Chennai, July 4: The Tamil Nadu unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has called on Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar to initiate legal action against the participation of two individuals who are not ministers in a recent Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay.
State BJP president Nainar Nagenthran submitted a memorandum to the Governor at Lok Bhavan on Saturday. He was accompanied by Arvind Menon, the party's national in-charge for Tamil Nadu, and spokesperson Narayanan Thirupathy.
According to a statement from the Governor's office, the memorandum alleged that 'two private individuals' attended the Cabinet meeting on June 5, calling it 'an illegal act and a violation of the oath of secrecy.' The memorandum urged the Governor to take appropriate legal action. The Governor's office did not name the individuals, but Nagenthran later told reporters that they were John Arokiasamy and Vishnu Reddy.
Nagenthran also submitted a second memorandum alleging that Minister for Higher Education P. Viswanathan had 'behaved inappropriately with a minor girl' and requested a proper inquiry. Additionally, he raised concerns about law and order, stating that since the current government assumed office, there have been 151 cases of sexual assault, over 85 murders, and more than 80 drug trafficking incidents. He claimed the government has taken no concrete action on these matters and alleged involvement of ruling party members in criminal activities.
In response to a query about Law Minister R. Nirmalkumar's remark that the Governor should not conduct direct field inspections, Nagenthran said the Governor has the authority under Article 167 of the Constitution to review central government schemes. He added that the Governor's observations during a visit to Madurai were made in his capacity as president of the Red Cross Society and should not be politicised.
Nagenthran also accused the government of demanding bribes ranging from ₹5 lakh to ₹50 lakh for the appointment of public prosecutors in Tamil Nadu.
