Puducherry political crisis: LG orders floor test on Feb 22
As four MLAs of the ruling Congress have resigned, the Opposition has claimed that the government has lost its majority and thus, the right to be in power.
Amid political turmoil in Puducherry, Lieutenant Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan on Thursday ordered a floor test to ascertain the majority of the ruling Congress-led coalition on the floor of the House. The floor test, the LG said, is to be done by 5pm on February 22.
In an official statement, the LG noted that both the ruling coalition and Opposition have a strength of 14 members each in the legislative assembly, thus necessitating a floor test in the 30-member legislative assembly, where 16 is the magic number. As per the statement, voting shall take place by show of hands and the proceedings will be videographed.
"The floor test in pursuance of the above directions shall be concluded by 5 pm on 22.02.2021 and the proceedings shall not be adjourned/delayed or suspended at any cost," the statement said.
The development came just hours after Soundararajan took oath as Kiran Bedi’s successor and took charge as the Lieutenant Governor of the Union territory where legislative assembly elections are likely to take place in April-May. Bedi, who was removed from office in a sudden move Tuesday night, was frequently engaged in a tussle with chief minister V Narayansamy.
Puducherry has been plunged into a political crisis following resignations of Congress MLAs from the Narayanasamy-led government. This has brought down the party’s strength in the legislative assembly to ten, including the speaker, while its ally Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) has three members in the legislative assembly.
Since January, four Congress MLAs have resigned, two of whom have joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
