Puducherry CM Narayanaswamy submits resignation after losing majority in Assembly

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Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanaswamy on Monday has submitted his resignation to Lieutenant Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan after losing the majority in the Assembly.

The V Narayanaswamy-led Congress government lost the floor test held in Puducherry Assembly today.

Assembly Speaker VP Sivakolundhu announced that the Chief Minister has failed to prove his majority and adjourned the house sine die.

Meanwhile, the Treasury Benches raised the issue of voting rights to nominated MLAs.

Shortly before the result of the floor test, Narayanasamy alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was forcibly trying to implement Hindi in the UT, which follows the two-language system.

He also said that former Lieutenant Governor Kiran Bedi and Central Government colluded with the Opposition in a bid to topple his government in the Union territory.

"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," said Puducherry 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.

Further slamming the Centre, he said, "We demanded full Statehood to stop the nominated LG from snatching the rights of the people of Puducherry."

He also claimed that the Central Government has betrayed the people of Puducherry by not granting the requested funds.

Earlier, Puducherry Lt Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan had ordered a floor test in assembly on February 22. The UT is going to Assembly polls later this year. The dates are yet to be announced.

The floor test came amid a spate of resignations including Congress MLAs A John Kumar and Lakshmi Narayanan and DMK MLA K Venkatesan.

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