Puducherry CM says "BJP trying to bring down his govt" as L-G orders floor test on Feb 22

With a deadline to prove his majority,  Puducherry CM V Narayanasamy on Thursday, said that after meeting his MLAs, no decision has been taken regarding the impending floor test on February 22. Alleging that BJP was attempting to bring down his democratically elected government, he said that he will consult with DMK regarding the floor test. Newly sworn-in L-G Tamilisai Soundararajan has directed the CM to prove his majority via floor test on February 22 after the Opposition requested her.

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CM: "BJP trying to break my govt"

Puducherry L-G orders floor test on February 22 as Congress govt slips into minority

Floor test in Puducherry

Earlier in the day, N Rangasamy, AIADMK MLA A Anbalagan and BJP MLA V Saminathan met Soundararajan personally and reiterated their request for the current government to prove its majority on the floor of the House. Consenting to this demand, Soundararajan directed that a special Assembly session will be summoned on February 22 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  Puducherry government is currently undergoing a crisis as 4 Congress MLAs resigned, pushing the 14-seat government into a minority in the 33-seat Assembly. With 4 MLAs resigning, Congress has been reduced to 10 seats, while ally DMK has 3 seats and 1 Independent MLA. Meanwhile, the Opposition has 14 seats - AINRC has 7 seats, BJP has 3 seats and AIADMK has 4 seats. 5 seats lie vacant.

Congress MLAs - A Namassivayam, E.Theeppainjan, Malladi Krishna Rao, John Kumar have cited dissatisfaction with the current government as the reason for their exit - a day ahead of ex-Congress chief Rahul Gandhi's visit. While  A Namassivayam, E.Theeppainjan have already joined BJP, Congress is in a huddle to tackle the situation. Amidst this crisis, President Kovind relieved L-G Kiran Bedi of her duties, replacing her with Soundararajan.

Puducherry CM hails ouster of L-G Kiran Bedi as 'victory of people'; hits out at Centre

Puducherry CM Vs L-G Kiran Bedi

Narayanasamy and Bedi have been at loggerheads over various issues concerning the governance in the Union Territory, since she was appointed as L-G in May 2016. While Congress accused her of going against the decisions of the state government, the ex-IPS officer maintained that she was discharging her duties as per law. Recently, Puducherry CM  staged a 4-day agitation from January 8 followed by a day-long hunger strike on February 5 in which members of several parties including the CM participated. They reiterated the demand that either Bedi should quit on her own or the Centre should recall her. Escalating the matter further, Narayanasamy submitted a memorandum to President Ram Nath Kovind on February 10 urging him to remove Bedi, saying she was running a ''tughlaq durbar". Narayanswamy has alleged that Bedi had not sanctioned 39 government proposals, including a free rice scheme.

Congress' Puducherry govt in crisis; Exodus likely before Rahul arrives as 4th MLA resigns