Updated 23 February 2021 at 14:11 IST
Congress bigwigs respond as Puducherry government falls; make big claim against the BJP
Puducherry Congress accused the BJP of bringing down the government by using 'anti-democratic means', a day after CM Narayanaswamy resigned.
Puducherry Congress has accused the BJP of bringing down the government by using 'anti-democratic means', a day after Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanaswamy called it a 'murder of democracy' right after tendering his resignation. Senior Congress leader and its in-charge for Tamil Nadu Dinesh Gundu Rao also said it was a 'murder of democracy' and also said the party will 'go to the people'. Both the BJP and Congress have expressed confidence over forming a government in Puducherry assembly polls likely to be held in April-May.
He said, “BJP has used unethical and anti-democratic means. It does not have support. They do not get votes in Puducherry. They are using the Income Tax department, ED CBI to topple the government.”
“There is huge dissent and people will give a reply in the assembly elections. We are very confident and upbeat. We will go to the people and will win the elections. We have an alliance,” he added.
Congress loses floor test, CM walks out
Minutes after calling for a floor test, the CM and his MLAs walked out before the motion was put for voting. While Speaker VP Sivakolundhu declared that the motion stood defeated, Narayanasamy submitted the letter of the resignation of the chief minister and his Council of Ministers to Lt. Governor Dr. Tamilisai Soundararajan. His decision comes a day after two more MLAs resigned from the UPA government - Congress' K Lakshminarayanan and DMK's Venkatesan, claiming to be sidelined by the government in its decision-making.
"Today, we failed the floor test over the confidence motion sought by me, to show that our government has the confidence of the people of the state. In fact, the three nominated members (all BJP MLAs) have no voting right. After I completed the speech, the issue was raised by Shyanand Raman, stating that the three nominated members were being used by BJP to topple our government, giving a voting right," said the CM, moments after his resignation.
He added, "The Speaker's ruling is incorrect. BJP govt at the Centre, NR Congress & AIADMK have succeeded in dislodging our govt by using voting power used by 3 nominated members. This is the murder of democracy. The people of Puducherry and this country will teach them a lesson."
(With ANI Inputs)
Published By : Swagata Banerjee
Published On: 23 February 2021 at 14:11 IST