With just three months left for assembly polls, Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanaswamy on Monday submitted his resignation to Lieutenant Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan after the Congress-led government lost its majority in the Union Territory.
On Monday, just few hours before the floor test, Narayanaswamy had alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was forcibly trying to implement Hindi in the UT, which follows the two-language system.
He also accused the former Lieutenant Governor Kiran Bedi and the Central Government of colluding with the opposition in a bid to topple his government.
“Former LG Kiran Bedi and Central Government colluded with the Opposition and tried to topple the government. As our MLAs stayed united we managed to pull off the last 5 years. The Centre has betrayed the people of Puducherry by not granting funds we requested," V Narayanaswamy said in the Assembly.
"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," he added.
The floor test came amid a spate of resignations from the ruling Congress-DMK government. Five Congress MLAs had resigned from the House in the last month, including two senior Cabinet ministers, while one was disqualified for anti-party activities last July, bringing down the total strength of government to 12 in 30 member house. Currently, the opposition alliance has 14 MLAs. Three of the former Congress MLAs have already joined BJP.
This development comes just days after Rahul Gandhi's visit to Puducherry.
Earlier, Puducherry Lt Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan had ordered a floor test in assembly on February 22. The Union Territory is going to Assembly polls in May this year. The dates are yet to be announced.
