PUDUCHERRY: Causing ripples in the political circles, Chief Minister N Rangasamy, who is heading the NDA government in Puducherry, abstained from the NITI Aayog meeting held in Delhi on Saturday. This is despite the central government’s insistence on the participation of all ruling and coalition state chief ministers in the meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which aims to bring together state leaders to make India a developed nation by 2047.
In previous years, PWD Minister K Lakshminarayanan used to fill in for the chief minister in the meeting among others. However, this year, the NITI Aayog issued a directive mandating the presence of chief ministers themselves in the meeting. Notably, Rangasamy has not attended such events since he assumed office in 2021. He also missed the recent NDA leaders’ meeting in Delhi.
Rangasamy’s decision comes at a time when several opposition-ruled states had boycotted the meeting, citing the centre’s alleged neglect of their states in the Union budget. Similarly in Puducherry, the opposition parties—DMK, Congress and AIADMK—have flayed the centre for neglecting the union territory in the budget.
Also, Rangasamy’s absence comes amid escalating tensions between the ruling AINRC and BJP following the defeat of BJP candidate Home Minister A Namassivayam in the Lok Sabha elections. The BJP MLAs, supported by three independent legislators, have been vocal in their dissatisfaction with the chief minister. The disgruntled MLAs are pushing the BJP to withdraw its support from the Rangasamy government and support from outside.
The MLAs have also accused the government of widespread corruption and reliance on intermediaries. Though six MLAs (four BJP MLAs and two independent MLAs) travelled to Delhi to appeal to Home Minister Amit Shah, they couldn’t meet him as he was preoccupied with parliamentary sessions.
Meanwhile, the AINRC questioned the BJP’s necessity of getting support from independent MLAs, especially when they are critical of the government, given their adequate number of legislators (AINRC has 10 MLAs and BJP has 9) in the 33-member Assembly. Despite the pressures, the independent MLAs continue to support BJP, leaving the political situation in a state of flux.
Chief Minister Rangasamy’s decision to boycott the NITI Aayog meeting, amidst these tensions and the upcoming budget session, has been seen as a significant political statement.
This has added fuel to the political fire in Puducherry, stirring considerable debate and speculation about the future of the AINRC-BJP alliance, even though BJP incharge for Puducehrry Nirmal Kumar Surana stating that the alliance with AINRC will continue till elections and thereafter.