PUDUCHERRY: The local unit of the Communist Party of India (CPI) has asked the ruling All- India N R Congress (AINRC) to list out the reasons as to why the party is seeking Lieutenant Governor Virendra Kataria’s removal.
On being questioned about CPI’s stand on this issue in the light of a few other organisations, including one ruling party body, demanding the removal of Kataria, the CPI State secretary R Viswanathan told reporters on Thursday that his party had clearly stated the stand on L-G and Governors (that they were not needed) and the position of a Lieutenant Governor was just a constitutional authority appointed by the President.
The party further sought clear and valid reasons necessitating the demand for Kataria’s recall and urged the government and the ruling party to state clearly that he was interfering in administrative affairs; which schemes were blocked by him; and to state whether he had stalled the distribution of the single boiled rice, as were the allegations levelled against him.
Viswanathan, pointing out that his party was at the forefront of agitations against two Lieutenant Governors in the past said, if the government’s justification was convincing, then the CPI would not hesitate to join the chorus for the Lieutenant Governor’s removal.
Later, the CPI leader said that it was only through Kataria’s intervention, the deteriorating law and order situation was brought under control last year.
Throwing light on other issues discussed in the two-day party executive committee meeting, Viswanathan said the panel discussed the party’s debacle in the Lok Sabha election and accepted the fact that the Left parties’ voteshare had gone down. The Left parties were aiming to get their representatives into the Territorial Assembly in the 2016 Assembly elections.
The CPI leader reiterated the party’s demand for proportional representation system in elections and urged the Election Commission to initiate a debate on it.
The CPI executive panel criticised the government for delaying the appointment of fee- fixing committee for private educational institutions despite the fact that the school reopening dates were known well in advance.
Viswanathan said some of the aided schools were demanding a fee for the textbooks, which should be distributed free of cost.
The CPI leader wondered as to whether the government has been following any criteria for the minority educational institutions.