PUDUCHERRY: It is against democracy and an insult to the elected government in Puducherry for Lieutenant Governor Dr Tamilisai Soundararajan to hold an ‘open house’ and address public grievances, former chief minister Narayanasamy said on Monday, and questioned whether Tamilisai would do the same in Telangana, where she is the Governor.
Narayanasamy said the situation is similar to what it was when his government was in power and Kiran Bedi was the Lt Governor. “Tamilisai is becoming a ‘super chief minister’. She is pretending to be in harmony with the CM, but is actually stabbing Chief Minister Rangasamy in the back,” Narayanasamy alleged, and said the Centre is trying to rule through Governors in States where the BJP is not in power.
“The BJP is gradually dominating the coalition government in the UT and making its ally AINRC, a dummy. Rangasamy is only bothered about his chair. Shouldn’t he have exited the alliance as soon as the Lt Governor started hearing people’s grievances at Raj Nivas?” he asked.
The Lt Governor started hearing public grievances on October 8. The ‘open house’ programmes are held on the first and third Saturdays every month. A release from her office said those intending to meet her should register over the phone (0413-2334050/51) or on adctolg.pon@nic.in.
Narayanasamy also alleged irregularities in permitting six blending and bottling units (distilleries) to come up in Puducherry. “There has been no response to information sought under the RTI Act. BJP MLAs’ said in the Assembly that licences were given by receiving kickbacks of Rs 90 crore at the rate of Rs 15 crore per distillery. The government has not responded to this. The Congress is engaged in legal consultations to take action,” he said.