Updated 1 March 2021 at 17:20 IST
Puducherry polls: Ex-Cong CM V Narayanasamy dares Amit Shah to prove 'cut money' claim
On Monday, former Puducherry CM V Narayanasamy dared Union Home Minister Amit Shah to prove his allegation made while addressing a rally in the Union Territory.
On Monday, former Puducherry CM V Narayanasamy dared Union Home Minister Amit Shah to prove his allegation made while addressing a rally in the Union Territory. Speaking to people in Puducherry a day earlier, Shah said, "So where did the Rs.15,000 crore given by Narendra Modi go? Narayanasamy made cut money out of it and sent it in service of the Gandhi family in Delhi". The Congress leader contended this was a "false statement" aimed at damaging his image and that of the Gandhi family. According to Narayanasamy, Shah should either issue a public apology failing which he would file a criminal defamation suit against the BJP leader.
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 : Akhil Oka
Published On: 1 March 2021 at 17:20 IST