Updated 5 March 2021 at 12:35 IST
BJP says alliance with NR Congress' Rangasamy intact; opines on DMK's 'invite' to AINRC
Puducherry BJP MLA V Saminathan claimed that the party's alliance with All India NR Congress' MLA Rangasamy will continue for the upcoming Assembly polls
Puducherry BJP MLA V Saminathan claimed that the party's alliance with All India NR Congress' MLA Rangasamy will continue for the upcoming polls and that the decision would be made public tomorrow. The BJP leader's clarification comes after NR Congress' Rangasamy was invited by Karikal district DMK to join its alliance along with Congress in the Assembly elections. Assembly elections are scheduled to be held in a single-phase in Puducherry on April 6 followed by the counting of votes and declaration of the results on May 2.
Talking to Facebook, BJP MLA Saminathan said that NR Congress' Rangasamy would continue with BJP as its ally in the 'interest of the people'. Further, the BJP leader accused DMK of attempting to create confusion among the public by calling for a meeting with the NR Congress leader. Former DMK minister and Karaikal district DMK secretary Nazim earlier spoke about being ready to accept Rangasamy as the leader of the coalition party if he joins the secular team.
Congress' woes in Puducherry
The crisis escalated in Puducherry on February 17 when Leader of Opposition N Rangasamy and 13 other MLAs called on Raj Nivas and submitted a letter saying that the V Narayansamy-led government has lost its majority owing to the resignation of four Congress legislators- A Namassivayam, E Theeppainjan, John Kumar, Malladi Krishna Rao and the disqualification of N Dhanavelou. Namassivayam and Theeppainjan have already joined BJP. On February 18, N Rangasamy, AIADMK MLA A Anbalagan and nominated MLA V Saminathan met L-G Dr. Tamilisai Soundararajan personally and reiterated their request for the current government to prove its majority on the floor of the House.
Consenting to this demand, the L-G directed that a special Assembly session will be summoned only for the purpose of conducting the trust vote. Mentioning that voting must take place by show of hands, she made it clear that the proceedings shall not be delayed beyond 5 pm at any cost. The government's hopes were dented further as Congress MLA K Lakshminarayanan and DMK legislator Venkatesan resigned on February 21.
On February 22, the Congress-led government in the Union Territory collapsed as it had the support of only 12 MLAs in the 26-member Puducherry Assembly. The Congress-led Secular Democratic Alliance (SDA) cited the nomination of three BJP MLAs, threats of the probe by Central agencies and luring of some legislators to hold the Union government responsible for the government's collapse. Subsequently, President's Rule was imposed in the Union Territory. Puducherry will go to the polls on April 6 while the election results will be declared on May 2.
Published By : Koushik Narayanan
Published On: 5 March 2021 at 12:35 IST