BJP won’t form Puducherry govt, president’s rule inevitable

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) today said it would not stake a claim to form the government in Puducherry after the Indian National Congress (INC)-led coalition government lost the vote of confidence in the assembly. The BJP said with the collapse of the V Narayanasamy government in Puducherry, “the worst chapter” in the union territory’s history had come to a close.

The political turmoil in Puducherry preceded the upcoming assembly election by a few months.

“We will not try and form a government at this stage. With the people’s blessings in the forthcoming election and Modiji’s leadership, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) will form a government with BJP and its alliance partners All India NR INC and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam in May and build a new bright future for the people of Puducherry,” said the BJP state unit president V Saminathan.

While Narayanasamy alleged that former lieutenant governor (L-G) Kiran Bedi had colluded with the opposition to topple his government; the BJP accused him of poor governance.

Saminathan said that in the last five years, the state’s finances had been “looted and destroyed” and the money meant for the people, which was sent from the funds of the union treasury for jobs, ration, healthcare, roads, and education, had been misused. “You saw during Rahul Gandhi’s visit how poor women had to complain about suffering during cyclones,” he said.

“A culture of corruption and exploitation is the only thing that INC and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam have given to the people instead of development and helping them. The people of Puducherry will teach them a lesson in the coming elections,” he said shortly after the floor test that the INC-led coalition government lost.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to visit poll-bound Puducherry on 25 February. Last week, the union government removed Kiran Bedi, who had a tumultuous equation with the Narayanasamy government, from the position of L-G and Telangana governor Tamilisai Soundararajan was given additional charge of the Union Territory.