T.N. BJP urges Governor Arlekar to act against participation of ‘two private individuals’ in Cabinet meeting

State BJP president Nainar Nagenthran on Saturday, July 4, 2026, called on Tamil Nadu Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar at Lok Bhavan in Chennai and submitted a memorandum urging him to take legal action against the participation of “two private individuals” in the recently held Cabinet meeting.

In a post on Lok Bhavan, and party spokesperson Narayanan Thirupathy called the Governor and submitted two memorandums.

The initial memorandum said that apart from the Ministers, “two special persons” attended the Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay on June 5. The involvement of these individuals “constituted an illegal act and violation of the oath of secrecy. Strongly condemning this violation, he urged the Governor to take appropriate legal action,” Lok Bhavan said, quoting the memorandum without naming “two private individuals”.

Talking to reporters after meeting the governor, Mr. Nagenthran said the current government had failed to take action on law and order. “The recently concluded Cabinet meeting was attended by two outsiders (John Arokisamy and Vishnu Reddy), besides ministers. We submitted a petition to the governor calling for strict action in this regard,” he said.

Lok Bhavan said the memorandum also requested the Governor to advise the Chief Minister to ensure that such incidents do not recur in future.

In another memorandum, it was alleged that Higher Education Minister P. Viswanathan had “behaved inappropriately with an underage girl” and demanded a proper investigation in the matter and necessary action to be taken.

Speaking to the media, Nagenthran said, “Since this government took office, there have been 151 cases of sexual assault, over 85 murders and over 80 cases of drug trafficking. There is no difference between the previous DMK government and the current regime. We have complained to the Governor that the administration has not taken any concrete steps regarding these incidents.”

Mr. Nagendran also alleged that members of the ruling TVK were involved in various criminal activities. He questioned why those who demand white papers for every minor issue do not explain what measures are being taken regarding these serious crimes.

Regarding the Governor’s investigation

When asked about Law Minister R. Nirmalkumar’s statement that the Governor should not carry out direct field inspection, Mr. Nagendran replied: “Under Article 167 of the Constitution, the Governor has the power to review Central government plans. He can inspect projects in the places he visits and this should not be politicised. When the Governor visited Madurai, he looked at the Vaigai river and just asked why there was no water. Later, while speaking at Saurashtra College, the Hon’ble Governor expressed this view as the state president of the Red Cross Society. “What is wrong? The governor did not attempt to usurp the authority of the state government.”

He further added: “Besides extending full cooperation for the formation of this government, he read out the Governor’s speech in its entirety, even though it contained negative references to the Central government. Regarding the appointment of Vice-Chancellors to universities, he clearly told the government to quickly submit a list of qualified candidates so that it can approve them. It is unwarranted to speak disparagingly about him in such a scenario.”

The State BJP chief also leveled corruption charges against the government, alleging that bribes ranging from ₹ 5 lakh to ₹ 50 lakh were demanded for the appointment of public prosecutors in Tamil Nadu.