PUDUCHERRY: Pandemonium reigned supreme in Puducherry territorial Assembly on Wednesday after Opposition legislators from the DMK and Congress staged a walkout from the House, protesting the centre's 'continued neglect' in sanctioning funds for the union territory, while Independent legislator G Nehru, alias Kuppusamy was evicted and suspended for continued disruption in the assembly, which approved an additional expenditure of Rs 700.25 crore for the financial year 2024-25, amid the chaos.
Notifications issued under the Puducherry Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, the Puducherry Motor Vehicles Taxation Act, 1967, and the 2022-2023 CAG audit reports were introduced and passed in the Assembly convened briefly under the leadership of Speaker R Selvam. Chief Minister N Rangasamy, ministers, and MLAs were present.
As the session began, Independent MLA Kuppusamy protested, demanding a response on the no-confidence motion he had submitted against the Speaker. He raised slogans and moved to the centre of the Assembly, supported by Independent MLAs P Angalane and M Sivasankar. Despite condolence resolutions being read, Kuppusamy continued his protest. Opposition Leader R Siva intervened, stating that Kuppusamy was disrupting proceedings. The Speaker ordered Assembly marshals to remove Kuppusamy, and he was escorted out.
The session began with the Speaker reciting a verse from the Thirukkural, followed by condolence resolutions for former Puducherry chief minister D Ramachandran, former PM Manmohan Singh, former MLAs Neela Gangadharan and P Kathavarayan, former Karnataka CM and Union minister SM Krishna, and industrialist Ratan Tata. A two-minute silence was observed.
CM Rangasamy moved a confidence motion in support of Speaker Selvam, which was endorsed by the members present. The Speaker later adjourned the Assembly indefinitely.
Outside the Assembly, Kuppusamy told reporters, "I had requested the CM to allow the deputy Speaker to conduct a vote on my no-confidence motion against the Speaker. Instead, the Speaker himself presided over a confidence motion in his favour. This is a murder of democracy.”
As the CM began discussing supplementary expenditure, DMK and Congress MLAs, led by Opposition Leader R Siva, raised slogans against the central government and walked out.
R Siva told reporters, "The central government has not allocated additional funds for Puducherry in the budget. Even after the cyclone, adequate relief funds were not provided. The Union government’s alliance here is not securing proper funding for projects. Due to its flawed education policies, 95% of Puducherry government school students have failed. We walked out in protest against all these issues. We also oppose new liquor shops and factories. Permits for restobars were given in favour of ruling party supporters, and we have taken legal action against it."
BJP MLAs demanded that the remarks made against the central government by DMK and Congress members be expunged from the Assembly records. Speaker Selvam accepted their request and ordered their deletion.
BJP MLAs protest liquor policy
Before the session, BJP MLAs PML Kalyanasundaram, A John Kumar, and Richard Johnkumar, along with BJP-backed Independent MLAs P Angalane, M Sivasankar, and Gollapalli Srinivas Ashok, staged a dharna on the Assembly steps. They raised slogans such as 'No to new liquor factories in Puducherry' and 'Protect people from alcohol industries.'
John Kumar told reporters, "The government is set to approve eight new liquor factories, which will harm the people. Even as the ruling party, we oppose this move. Liquor factories are unnecessary in Puducherry. In Delhi, the ruling party lost power due to liquor policies. The same should not happen here. We have submitted petitions to the governor, CM, and ministers, urging them not to approve liquor factories. The BJP has six MLAs in Puducherry, and Minister Sai J Saravanakumar has opposed liquor factory approvals in the Cabinet. Four BJP MLAs stand firmly against liquor industries. There is no division within the BJP; we only oppose the liquor policy.”