Congress loses majority in Puducherry
CHENNAI: The Congress party’s government in the Tamil-speaking Union Territory of Puducherry was on the brink of collapse on Tuesday as the Bharatiya Janata Party engineered the defection of four MLAS.
Chief Minister V. Narayanaswamy rejected calls to resign, claiming that his government still has a majority.
“My Congress-led government has a majority,” the CM told the media.
“The Government of Pondicherry will function in accordance with the Constitution of India. There is no room for talk of Puducherry cabinet resignation. I would prove a majority in the assembly.”
The resignations come as Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is set to arrive in Puducherry on Wednesday for election campaign.
The opposition are already calling for a floor test asking Narayanaswamy to prove majority.
Two Congress MLAS A Namassivayam and E.theeppainjan resigned on January 25.
Health Minister Malladi Krishna Rao quit on Monday. On Tuesday, Congress legislator A. John Kumar resigned from the party, citing “dissatisfaction with the Congress government.”
Since Namassivayam and Rao resigned as MLAS too, the strength of the Assembly was reduced to 28. The Congress had won 14 assembly seats in the 30-member Assembly in the 2016 polls.
One of the MLAS is now Speaker. The Congress hinges on the support of the three-member DMK and an Independent from Mahe, N. Ramachandran.
In the opposition benches, the AINRC has seven members while ADMK has four. The BJP has three nominated members.
The effective strength of the ruling alliance now remains at 14, one short of majority.
While the government crash in the UT is not of great significance, it can have some impact in Tamil Nadu, where the BJP hopes to make electoral gains in an alliance with the ruling Anna DMK.
Communist Party of India general secretary D. Raja accused the BJP of using its monetary power to gain power in the states. He said the BJP was stooping too low to gain power.
“This is not honest politics, this is disgusting politics,” he said.
Raja said the results of the forthcoming assembly elections in five states, including Tamil Nadu, would be the beginning of the BJP’S downfall.