Puducherry PWD Minister quits, accuses CM of sidelining senior Cong leaders

In a setback to ruling Congressin Puducherry months ahead of assembly elections, PWD ministerA.Namassivayam on Monday quit the V Narayanasamy cabinet andresigned from the party, mounting a scathing attack on theChief Minister, accusing him of suppressing senior leaders.

In a letter to Congress president Sonia Gandhi, he alsoclaimed people of the union territory suffered because of the'deliberate' confrontationist approach of Narayanasamy againstPrime Minister Narendra Modi, the union government andPuducherry Lt Governor Kiran Bedi.

Namasivayam, who had been distancing himself frommeetings of Congress of late amid speculations that he mightjoin the BJP, also quit from the assembly even as the stateleadership suspended him on charges of anti-party activity.

In a twin blow, Namasivayam, credited with steering theparty to victory in the 2016 elections, and another CongressMLA E Theeppainthan resigned their assembly membership,bringing down the strength of the party to 12 in the 30-memberHouse.

The Congress has been enjoying the outside support ofthree members of its ally DMK in the assembly, which is set togo for polls likely in April or May.

The two leaders submitted their resignations to Speaker VP Sivakolundhu who accepted them, assembly sources said.

Earlier, Puducherry Congress Committee president A VSubramanian announced at a press meet that Namassivayam wassuspended from the primary membership for 'anti-partyactivities'.

Opposition AIADMK Legislature Wing leader A Anbalagandemanded the resignation of Narayanasamy, saying the ministrywas virtually 'unstable' following the resignation of the twoas MLAs.

The party-wise break-up in the assembly after theresignation of two is Congress (12 including Speaker), DMK(three), Independent (one), AIADMK (four) AINRC (seven).

Congress MLA N Dhanavelou was disqualified in July last yearunder the anti-defection law.

There are two nominated members belonging to the BJP.

Namassivayam, who was No.2 in the cabinet, in his letterto Sonia Gandhi alleged that Narayanasamy had been sidelininghim and other senior leaders who had been working sincerelyfor the party.

He also alleged Narayanasamy was intervening in thematers concerning his (Namasisivayam's) departments and wasthus creating a ''parallel line of command forcing me to thinkof alternative path.'' The senior leader, who was the Puducherry Congresspresident for a brief term from 2015, also said the chiefminister had been deliberately attcking Prime MinisterNarendra Modi, the Central government and Bedi from the firstday in office without weighing its impact on people at large.

''People have suffered a lot because of the approach ofthe Chief Minister,'' Namassivayam said in the letter, a copyof which was released to media.

An identical letter was sent separately to Congressleader Rahul Gandhi also.

While people had great expectations from the ChiefMinister, his ''inexperience in local governance wasdetrimental to executing the election manifesto of the party,''he said, in apparent reference to Narayanasamy's long stint asa union minister during the UPA rule.

He claimed that Narayanasamy kept accusing Modi and Bediof impeding the Congress government's functioning only toavoid ''disgrace to his image.'' With a coterie around him, he had pushed out leaderslike former MP P Kannan, N Rangasamy, who went on to float theAll-India NR Congress, and former speaker R Radhakrishnan bycreating troubles to them although they had contact with thegrass root level workers and people, Namassivayam claimed.

''Narayanasamy's intention was not to allow anybody to getrecognition... After a long thought I have decided to end myassociation with the Chief Minister and resign from theprimary membership of the Congress,'' he said.

Addressing his supporters here Sunday night, Namassivayamhad claimed he was ''pained by continued neglect of hisrepresentations for recognition of his workers.'' BJP national president J P Nadda is scheduled to visitPuducherry on January 31 to address a rally of party workershere.

Anabalagan told PTI that Narayansamy should resign onmoral grounds.

''There is every need for the Centre to study theprevailing political situation and take appropriate decision,''the AIADMK MLA added.

Earlier this month, the opposition parties have demandedthat Narayanasamy prove his majority after DMK members wereconspicous by their absence at the recent specialy assemblysession where a resolution was passed against the contentiouscentral farm laws.

They had also said the ties between DMK and Congress hadstrained of late.

The DMK had organised separate agitation on the farm lawsand stayed away from a protest by the Congress-led alliancedemanding the recall of Lt Governor Bedi.