NE NEWS SERVICE
PUDUCHERRY, JAN 26
Puducherry Chief Minister and senior Congress leader V Narayanasamy on Tuesday launched a signature campaign by the Secular Democratic Alliance seeking the recall of Lt Governor Kiran Bedi but representatives of DMK, a key ally, were conspicuous by their absence.
Launching the campaign to collect signatures from the public to urge the Centre to recall Bedi, the Chief Minister also made a veiled attack on A Namassivayam, who quit the Cabinet and as an MLA on Monday, saying the ruling party was not bothered and said “turncoats` would become irrelevant in politics in Puducherry.”
Though representatives of the other allies including the Left parties and VCK were present, the DMK which has been keeping away from similar protests did not participate in Tuesday’s campaign.
The Congress government is dependent on the support of the DMK which has three MLAs for its survival as the resignation of Namassivayam and another party MLA has reduced its strength in the 30-Assembly to 12.
“The SDA is a strong one and none can succeed in any attempt to sabotage the alliance,” he said.
“The constituents of the alliance should work in coordination and face the Assembly polls here due in the next few months,” he added.
Hitting out at Namassivayam, the chief minister said the history of Puducherry would show how “those shifting allegiance quite often were ignored by the people as turncoats would become irrelevant in politics in the Union Territory.”
He said the signature campaign would be carried out intensively and the signatures collected would be presented to the Centre.
Narayanasamy also said workers of the parties in the alliance would resort to a eight-hour fast here on February 5 to reiterate the demand that the Centre recall Bedi as she had allegedly been blocking several welfare schemes of the territorial government.
The alliance partners would also be observing a bandh pressing the same demand on February 16.
The chief minister had led a protest earlier this month demanding the recall of Bedi.
Earlier in the morning, the Chief Minister V. Narayanasamy and Speaker Sivakolundu took part in the Republic Day celebrations held at Indira Gandhi Sports Complex in Uppalam in Puducherry.
