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Puducherry Floor Test LATEST News and Updates: AICC in-charge for Puducherry Dinesh Gundu Rao on Twitter lashed out at the BJP, accusing the party of “killing democracy” yet again. “Using ED, IT and other agencies, spending crores of rupees they have toppled an elected government. The Congress will go to the people, the people of Puducherry will give a befitting reply in the elections,” he tweeted. After submitting his resignation, Narayansamy called Speaker VP Sivakozhundu’s decision incorrect and alleged that the Opposition dislodged his government by using the voting power of three nominated MLAs. Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanasamy submitted his resignation to Lieutenant Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan soon after his government lost the trust vote in the Assembly. Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanasamy seeks a confidence vote, insisting that the Congress-led government still has majority. Two more MLAs of the Congress-DMK alliance in Puducherry resigned on Sunday, delivering yet another jolt to Chief Minister V Narayanasamy, a day before he is scheduled to face a floor test in the Assembly to prove his majority. The resignation by Congress MLA K Lakshminarayanan and DMK legislator Venkatesan further reduced the strength of the ruling alliance to 11, while the Opposition has 14 MLAs in the 33-member Assembly, which has seven vacancies. Lakshminarayanan and Venkatesan submitted their resignation letters separately to Assembly Speaker VP Sivakolundhu at his residence, they both said. Speaking to reporters, Lakshminarayanan said, “this government led by Narayanasamy has lost majority.” He said he has also resigned from the party membership. Later, Venkatesan told the media that he had quit the post of MLA only and continued to be in the DMK. “… I was not able to meet the needs of the people in my constituency since there was no allocation of funds under the MLA Local Area Development fund,” he said. Four Congress MLAs, including ex-ministers A Namassivayam (now in BJP) and Malladi Krishna Rao had quit, while another party legislator was earlier disqualified. Narayanasamy’s confidante A John Kumar had resigned this week. Telangana governor Tamilisai Soundararajan, handed over additional charge of Puducherry, had on Thursday directed Narayanasamy to prove majority by ordering a floor test on 22 February. The resignation of two MLAs’ comes on a day when the ruling party members are slated to meet the chief minister to discuss the future course of action, though similar discussions on 18 February yielded no results.
Puducherry Floor Test Updates: Congress accuses BJP at Centre of toppling Narayanasamy govt
Puducherry Floor Test Updates: Dinesh Gundu Rao, AICC in-charge of the Union Territory said the people of Puducherry will give a befitting reply in the upcoming elections
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BJP only undermining democracy, says Ashok Gehlot
Rajasthan chief minister and Congress leader Ashok Gehlot called the developments in Puducherry as most unfortunate and accused the BJP of undermining democracy in the country. “What has happened in Puducherry is most unfortunate and yet another case of how BJP is destabilising Congress government to grab power through unethical means. First, they created problems in running the administration through the Lieutenant Governor and now this has happened,” he said in a series of tweets.
“The people are watching what tactics BJP is adopting and the party will be taught a lesson by electorates in the next elections in Puducherry,” he said.
MK Stalin slams BJP, lauds Narayansamy
DMK chief MK Stalin slammed the BJP for murdering democracy yet again and praised Narayansamy.
Congress’ Puducherry in-charge blames BJP
AICC in-charge for Puducherry Dinesh Gundu Rao on Twitter lashed out at the BJP, accusing the party of “killing democracy” yet again. “Using ED, IT and other agencies, spending crores of rupees they have toppled an elected government. The Congress will go to the people, the people of Puducherry will give a befitting reply in the elections,” he tweeted . Meanwhile, Union minister Arjun Ram Meghwal, along with a video of BJP workers celebrating, tweeted: “Puducherry is celebrating as it becomes free from the misgovernance and corruption-ridden regime of Congress. This moment will be marked as a significant milestone in the growth trajectory of #ProsperousPuducherry.”
Narayansamy submitted resignation to Lt Governor
Will not stake claim to form govt at this stage, says Puducherry BJP chief
BJP state unit president V Saminathan.told the Hindustan Times that the party will not try to form a government at this stage but said that the NDA will form a government after the forthcoming elections. “With the people’s blessings in the forthcoming elections and [Prime Minister Narendra] Modiji’s leadership, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) will form a government with BJP and its alliance partners All India NR Congress and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam in May and build a new bright future for the people of Puducherry,” the report quotes Saminathan as saying.
AAP slams Congress
The Aam Aadmi Party slammed the Congress after its government collapsed in Puducherry, saying " They cant save their own government. How will the Congress save the country?"
BJP leaders target Rahul Gandhi
A section of BJP leaders on Twitter blamed Rahul Gandhi for the collapse of the Puducherry government. Bengaluru Central MP PC Mohan tweeted : “V Narayanasamy led Congress loses majority in floor test. Alliance leaders walked out may be because Rahul Gandhi termed fishermen as the ‘farmers of the sea’ while addressing a gathering in Puducherry and claimed that they didn’t have representation while some others mocked Rahul over his ‘midas touch’.
Speaker’s ruling incorrect, says Narayansamy
After submitting his resignation, Narayansamy said the the Speaker’s ruling was incorrect and also slammed the BJP, AIADMK and the AINRC. " This is murder of democracy." ANI quotes him as saying.
V Narayansamy submits resignation to L-G
Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanasamy submitted his resignation to Lieutenant Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan soon after his government lost the trust vote in the Assembly, News18 reported.
He said that apart from his ministers, Congress and DMK MLAs and an Independent legislator have also tendered their resignations.
After submitting his resignation, he said, “A government elected by the people has been toppled by the BJP, NR Congress and the AIADMK. In the coming elections, the people of Puducherry will teach the Opposition parties a lesson.”
Narayanasamy govt loses majority in floor test
Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanasamy will submit his resignation after his government failed to prove majority on the floor of the House.
Narayansamy, ruling MLAs walk out of Assembly
CM Narayansamy and ruling MLAs walked out of the House, ahead of the trust vote. “What is happening in Puducherry now is political prostitution. But the truth will prevail,” he said, accusing BJP of derailing India’s democratic system.
Puducherry political crisis: A timeline
25 January: Public works department minister A Namassivayam tenders resignation within hours of being suspended from Congress for ‘anti-party’ activities. MLA E Theepaindan also resigns. Both leaders later join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
15 February: Health minister Malladi Krishna Rao also resigns, bringing down the Congress’ strength in the legislative assembly to 11.
16 February: A John Kumar becomes the fourth Congress MLA to resign since January. Later in the day, lieutenant governor Kiran Bedi is removed from her post and Telangana governor Tamilisai Soundararajan is given additional charge.
17 February: Opposition parties, led by Leader of Opposition N Rangasamy, submit a petition to the L-G’s office, seeking a floor test. They argue that the ruling coalition has slipped below the majority mark of 17 and that both sides now have equal strength of 14 members.
18 February: On the day that she is sworn in as the new L-G of Puducherry, Soundararajan orders a floor test in the assembly on 22 February by 5 pm.
21 February: Congress’ K Lakshminarayanan and aDMK’s Venkatesan resign.
22 February: Narayanasamy says in the Puducherry Assembly session that the ruling coalition still has majority. However, the ruling coalition’s numbers are down to 12 ( Congress 9, DMK 2 and one independent). With the effective strength of the assembly at 26, the majority mark is attained at 14.
CM seeks confidence vote, says rebel MLAs will not be able to face people
Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanasamy seeks a confidence vote, insisting that the Congress-led government still has majority
“MLAs should stay loyal to the party. MLAs who have resigned will not be able to face the people as people will call them opportunists,” he said.
Victory in elections, bypolls shows people’s trust in government: V Narayanasamy
Speaking during the Puducherry Assembly session called to hold a floor test to prove the majority of the V Narayanasamy-led Congress government in the Union Territory, the Chief Minister said the government was formed with support from the DMK and Independent MLAs. “After that, we faced various elections. We have won all the by-elections. It is clear that people of Puducherry trust us,” he said.
He went on to say that former L-G Kiran Bedi and the Centre colluded with the Opposition and tried to topple the government. “As our MLAs stayed united, we managed to pull off the last five yrs. The Centre has betrayed the people of Puducherry by not granting funds we requested,” he said.
‘Whatever was done, was a sacred duty’: Kiran Bedi on tenure as L-G
Kiran Bedi, on her last day as Lt Governor of Puducherry, said whatever work done was a sacred duty fulfilling her constitutional and moral responsibilities.
A day after she was removed as the Lt Governor of the Union Territory, the former IPS officer thanked the Centre for a lifetime experience in serving Puducherry. She also thanked all those who worked with her closely.
Bedi said she could say with a deep sense of satisfaction that during her tenure ‘Team Raj Nivas diligently worked to serve larger public interest’. Bedi, who has been at loggerheads with the elected government and particularly with Chief Minister V Narayanasamy also said “whatever was done was a sacred duty fulfilling my constitutional and moral responsibilities.” She asserted that Puducherry has a very bright future. “It is now in the hands of the people.”
Special Assembly session commences
The special one-day Assembly session commenced, where Chief Minister V Narayaswamy has been asked to prove that his government is still in majority in Puducherry.
Kiran Bedi wishes for Puducherry’s prosperity
Days after being removed from the office of Lt Governor of Puducherry, Kiran Bedi left for Coimbatore on Sunday enroute to Delhi. She was seen off at Raj Nivas by staff and workers. Before leaving Raj Nivas she told the staff she wished for a prosperous Puducherry.
The former IPS officer was keen that there should be ’perfect and corruption free administration and financial prudence.’ She was replaced by Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan, who is holding the post of Lt Governor under additional charge.
Bedi assumed office of Lt Governor on 29 May, 2016, and had been at loggerheads with Narayanasamy on various issues.
What is a floor test?
A floor test is a constitutional mechanism. It is used to determine if the incumbent government enjoys the support of the legislature. This voting process happens in the state or a Union Territory’s Legislative Assembly or the Lok Sabha at the central level.
Technically, the chief minister of a Union Territory with a Legislative Assembly is appointed by the Lieutenant Governor. The appointed chief minister usually belongs to the single largest party or the coalition which has the ‘magic number’.
The magic number is the total number of seats required to form a government or stay in power. It is the half-way mark, plus one. In case of a tie, the Speaker casts the deciding vote
CM V Narayanasamy arrives at Assembly
Assembly proceedings to be videographed
Following a demand from the Opposition led by All India NR Congress founder N Rangasamy, the floor test was ordered by Tamilisai Soundararajan, the Telangana Governor, immediately after she was handed additional charge of Puducherry. Soundararajan was sworn in after the former Lt Governor Kiran Bedi was removed from the post.
“Voting shall take place by show of hands. The entire proceedings of the Assembly shall be videographed. The floor test shall be conducted by 5 pm on 22 February and the proceedings shall not be adjourned or delayed or suspended at any cost,” said a statement from Soundararajan.
Five Congress MLAs resign, one disqualified
The Congress has nine MLAs, including the Speaker, and DMK two while the government also enjoys the support of one Independent MLA. The Opposition alliance has seven MLAs of All India NR Congress and four of AIADMK, apart from three nominated MLAs from BJP. With just three months left for Assembly polls, there are also reports of the Congress “holding talks” with some AIADMK MLAs to save the government.
Apart from one Congress MLA who was disqualified for anti-party activities last July, a total of five Congress MLAs have now resigned from the House in the last one month, including two senior Cabinet ministers. Three of them have already joined BJP.
Floor test to be conducted in Puducherry Assembly
The Congress-led government of Puducherry will undergo a floor test ordered by Lieutenant Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan to prove its majority in the Legislative Assembly after the Opposition claimed that the ruling government is in minority.
On Sunday, two more Congress MLAs submitting their resignations, pulling down the ruling coalition’s numbers down to 12 in the 33-member House which has a current strength of 26.