PUDUCHERRY: With Lieutenant Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan asking the ruling Congress government to face a trust vote in the Puducherry Assembly, there is a strong likelihood that the Union Territory may come under the President’s rule until elections are held later this year. The elections are likely to be announced in a few days. The Opposition, at this juncture, appealing for a trust vote indicates that it does not want to face elections under a caretaker government.
As both the ruling and opposition alliances have 14 legislators each, the Speaker’s vote is likely to decide the fate of the government.The springing up of more turncoats cannot be ruled out. Congress has already lost three of its legislators to the BJP, and there could be more members from the grand old party or its ally, the DMK, who want to shift to the saffron camp.
There is already a rumour doing the rounds that the DMK MLA Venkatesan may switch camps. It is also being said that negotiations are in the final stages, as the DMK leadership has moved in to ensure that he stays in the party. The DMK Legislature party leader R Siva has been “guarding” Venkatesan since then , which was evidently visible even during the swearing-in function at the Raj Nivas on Thursday.
The BJP also is wooing Congress legislator K Lakshminarayanan to join the party, said senior sources. Discussions, as per reports, are underway. Left with not many options, the Congress, too, is understood to have struck deals with Opposition MLAs. While the Chief Minister maintains that his government has the majority, Welfare Minister M Kandasamy and government whip RKR Anantharaman say some Opposition legislators, who do not want the government to be toppled, would support the Congress in trust vote.
Political analysts say that the BJP, which is desperately trying to come to power in the UT, has replaced Kiran Bedi with Tamilisai Soundararajan as she is more competent to deal with such political situations.
While assuming charge on Thursday morning, Tamilisai Soundararajan promised to be the “people’s governor.” She assured that she would not infringe upon the powers of elected government or interfere in their rights and will function within the realms of the Constitutional framework.
Regarding speculations about her posting, she clarified that she has not come to the Union Territory with any “ulterior motives.” She said, “The honourable President and Prime Minister thought that I should be here. Whatever duties are given to me, I will fulfil them to serve the people,” she said.
In a significant move, the first file she signed on Thursday was to release the financial assistance benefits for SC/ST people, a scheme that was long-pending on her predecessor Kiran Bedi’s table. The second file was the one to release assistance for people living with HIV. She also created history by becoming the first L-G of Puducherry to take oath in Tamil.