TN political crisis: Palanisamy to meet Governor today

Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], Feb. 16 (ANI): Amid the ongoing Tamil Nadu political tussle, AIADMK legislature party leader Edappadi K. Palanisamy will meet Governor Ch. Vidyasagar Rao today at 12:30 p.m. "Governor invites AIADMK's legislature party leader Edapadi K.Palanisamy," AIADMK tweeted. Rao heard competing pitches last night from within the ruling party of the state over who should be the Chief Minister. The Governor first met with Palanisamy, who claimed the support of 125 state legislators on MLAS. Next up was interim Tamil Nadu Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam, who says he has 11 MLAs. Both want to take a trust vote in the legislature and presented the Governor with a list of legislators supporting them. Setting aside on earlier Karnataka High Court order, a two-judge bench of the Supreme Court earlier on Tuesday convicted AIADMK general secretary V.K. Sasikala Natarajan in connection with a 19-year old disproportionate assets case. She has been ordered to surrender to the law enforcement authorities immediately to serve the remainder of her four-year jail term. She also will not be able to contest elections for 10 years or hold public office. The verdict comes in the backdrop of the ongoing power struggle within the ruling AIADMK in Tamil Nadu - between Sasikala and Panneerselvam. The disproportionate assets case that posed a legal hurdle against Sasikala's taking over as the Chief Minister dates back to 1996. Late former Tamil Nadu chief minister J. Jayalalithaa, Sasikala and her two relatives, Ilavarasi and Sudhagaran were convicted in the case that alleged that the former chief minister owned assets far exceeding her known sources of income. (ANI)