KARAIKAL: Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanasamy termed former PWD Minister A Namassivayam's reasons to quit the Cabinet and the party as unacceptable and said he never interfered in the latter's departments.
Narayanasamy, who was in Karaikal to inaugurate completed government projects on Thursday, addressed reporters. "I never interfered in the departments, be it the one which was under Namassivayam or any other, in any capacity. Namassivayam held several key portfolios, while I am holding only two key ones. Namassivayam should specify which department I had interfered with. We cannot accept a generalised allegation."
On Namassivayam's allegation that the Chief Minister did not allocate sufficient funds for the former's department, Narayanasamy said, "Our Rs 9,000-crore budget is running short of funds to the tune of Rs 500 crore owing to lack of revenue for the government during the pandemic. Funds for all departments have been cut owing to administrative reasons. The truth is that he did not properly spend the funds allotted for PWD."
Namassivayam had also blamed that Narayanasamy was not maintaining a friendly relationship with the Centre or Lieutenant Governor Kiran Bedi. "The Centre did not allocate funds and subsidies we had sought. Namassivayam knows how many times I approached the Centre and how it gives step-motherly treatment to the Congress-ruled States. Nevertheless, we never were or wanted to be unfriendly with the Centre," Narayanasamy said.
But, the Chief Minister also questioned how could he or his Cabinet colleagues be happy with Bedi, when she kept rejecting all dossiers and delaying approval for schemes. "I would like to remind Namassivayam that he was with us -- ministers, MLAs and alliance leaders -- during our protest in front of Bedi's office in 2019. Namassivayam had staged a demonstration against Bedi and filed lawsuits against her.
The reasons he is citing now for his exit are unacceptable." Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi and DMK president MK Stalin would decide about the alliance for the coming Assembly polls, Narayanasamy said, adding, "We are united as a party and will work to make it stronger. People know that the BJP does not go well as a party in Puducherry. Political careers end when people go there."