Puducherry Chief Minister V. Narayanasamy lost the confidence vote in the assembly on Monday, causing the government to collapse. Narayanasamy, after concluding his speech, made a clear signal to the Assembly along with his ministers that his government does not enjoy a majority.
Earlier, he called for a vote of confidence for his government, as the territorial assembly met for a special session for the floor test of its five-year-old government, which has come to a minority following the resignation by ruling dispensation members.
“MLAs should remain loyal to the party. The legislators who have resigned will not be able to face the people as they will call them opportunists, ”says Puducherry CM V Narayanasamy in the assembly. As of Sunday evening, the number of MLAs supporting the government of the Puducherry chief minister was 11.
We formed the government with the support of DMK and independent MLAs. After that, we faced various elections. We have won all the by-elections. It is clear that people of Puducherry trust us: Puducherry CM V.Narayanasamy in assembly pic.twitter.com/mrnsN2xxFh
— ANI (@ANI) February 22, 2021
An MLA from the opposition interrupted CM Narayanasamy during his address and asked why he was talking about addressing a public meeting. The speaker then asked the MLA to sit and allowed the CM to speak.
The government of Chief Minister V Narayanasamy fell into crisis after back-to-back resignations. This meant that Narayanasamy no longer needed a majority to continue in his chair.
Advancing the motion, the Chief Minister told the Assembly that his government had a majority.
Former Lieutenant Governor Kiran Bedi, referring to her having frequent loggerheads on administrative matters, said that she had given for the union territory, including effectively handling the Covid-19 epidemic.
He attacked Bedi fiercely, saying that he ‘conspired’ against the government in many cases including revenue generation.
He said, “People conspired to topple our government, but we remained adamant because of our resilience.”
Beyond the vote of confidence, Narayanasamy claimed that the Congress government had a majority in the union territory. Accusing the opposition of trying to topple the government, the CM said, “Former LG Kiran Bedi and the central government colluded with the opposition and tried to topple the government. It is clear that the people of Puducherry trust us. It is a government elected by the people. “
After a series of resignations, the Congress-DMK has 12 MLAs (including an Independent who is supporting the government) whose effective strength in the House is now 26, while the opposition coalition has 14 MLAs.
Currently, however, the numbers are overwhelmingly against the government. The Congress has nine MLAs including the Speaker, and DMK two while the government also has the support of an Independent MLA. The opposition coalition has seven MLAs from the All India NR Congress and four from the AIADMK, three from the BJP nominated MLAs besides four. With just three months left for the Assembly elections, there are also reports of Congress’ ‘talks’ with some AIADMK MLAs to save the government.
Addressing the Legislative Assembly during a special session on Monday 22 February, ahead of a floor test ordered by Lieutenant Governor Tamilisai Soundarajan, Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanasamy insisted that he had a majority, as he sought a confidence vote .