India / Cong-led Puducherry govt loses majority, CM Narayanasamy, MLAs stage walkout

Pondicherry: Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanasamy submitted his resignation to Lieutenant Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan on Monday, 22 February, minutes after his government fell in the Union territory.

The people of Puducherry will give the Opposition a befitting reply in the upcoming elections, Narayanasamy said.

Earlier on Monday, the Assembly Speaker announced that the Congress-DMK government lost its majority, as the alliance members staged a walkout. The developments come just months before elections are scheduled to be held in the Union territory.

‘Kiran Bedi Colluded With Opposition’: What CM Narayanasamy Said in Assembly

Addressing the Assembly during the special session ahead of the floor test ordered by the lieutenant governor, Narayanasamy had initially insisted that he has a majority, as he sought a confidence vote.

Accusing Kiran Bedi, who was removed as the Union territory's lieutenant governor last week, of colluding with the Opposition and trying to topple the government, the Congress leader said, "Because of the support of my MLAs, we were able to complete almost five years of our government."

“We formed the government with the support of 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.”

The chief minister further demanded full statehood to "stop the L-G from taking away the rights of the people."

Spate of Resignations

The Congress in Puducherry had been hit by a spate of resignations in the last one month.

On Sunday, party MLA K Lakshminarayanan and DMK MLA K Venkatesan handed over their resignation letters to Puducherry Assembly Speaker VP Sivakozhundu.

After this development, the V Narayanasamy-led government was reduced to 12 MLAs. The Opposition’s strength stood at 14 in the 33-member House.

The Opposition in Puducherry, led by N Rangasamy, had demanded the resignation of Chief Minister V Narayanasamy. They had claimed that the recent Congress MLAs who resigned from their posts had done so as they were dissatisfied with the government.

Assembly elections for the Union territory are scheduled to be held by May this year.

Last week, Kiran Bedi was also removed as the Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry, with the additional charge of the UT given to Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan.