CHENNAI: : Puducherry’s lone woman minister S Chandira Priyanga, who resigned on Tuesday, and chief minister N Rangasamy were having problems since last six months, people in the know of matter said on Wednesday.
“The chief minister sent a letter to the Lieutenant Governor on October 8 seeking to remove her because he was unhappy with her administration and he was receiving several complaints against her,” a senior cabinet member close to the chief minister, seeking anonymity, said. “Even before she resigned, the chief minister wanted her to be removed,” he added.
Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry Tamilisai Soundarajan on Wednesday said the chief minister had informed her six months ago that Priyanga was not good at her job and that there have been no instances of discrimination. “He wished for some action to be taken six months ago but I said lets give it time since she is the only woman minister,” said Soundararajan. “She held important portfolios. He [CM] requested me to remove her [Priyanga] as a minister because he was not satisfied with her work. Her resignation did not come first. What is unfortunate is that she has said caste-based discrimination and I don’t see any such instances.”
The LG further confirmed that she received a letter from the CM on October 8 seeking Priyanga’s removal. “Procedurally, I’ve to accept it and send it to the Centre to endorse it since Puducherry is a union territory. By the time this happened, she knew of the CM’s letter and she sent in her resignation yesterday [Tuesday],” the LG told HT. “I spoke to her six months ago, conveying to her that the CM is disappointed with her work. Though she began her stint well, her attention got deviated. Unfortunately, she did not use this opportunity, which is hard for a woman in politics to get at such a young age.”
{{/usCountry}}The LG further confirmed that she received a letter from the CM on October 8 seeking Priyanga’s removal. “Procedurally, I’ve to accept it and send it to the Centre to endorse it since Puducherry is a union territory. By the time this happened, she knew of the CM’s letter and she sent in her resignation yesterday [Tuesday],” the LG told HT. “I spoke to her six months ago, conveying to her that the CM is disappointed with her work. Though she began her stint well, her attention got deviated. Unfortunately, she did not use this opportunity, which is hard for a woman in politics to get at such a young age.”
{{/usCountry}}Priyanga, a Dalit who has raised charges that she faced caste and gender-based discrimination, did not respond to HT’s calls and messages.
“I could not continue my fight against money power. I didn’t know that pride of my Dalit identity was the problem for others. I was being continuously subjected to caste and gender bias,” she said in her two-page statement posted on X. “I have been targeted continuously,” she added, without elaborating on instances of the caste and gender-based discrimination she had faced. She added that she would respond to the criticism by releasing a list of her achievements as a minister in the past two years. While the CM evaded questions from reporters on the purported letter sent on October 8, officials of the Raj Nivas also did not respond. Neither the CMO nor the Raj Nivas has released a statement.