Terming the review meetings conducted by Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit a deliberate “arm-twisting” design by the Centre to control non-BJP-ruled States, Puducherry Chief Minister V. Narayanasamy said the practice was against the basic tenets of the Constitution.
“Governor’s activism in day-to-day administration of the elected government in Tamil Nadu indicates the attempt by the Centre to impose its policies and programmes. It cannot be allowed to continue,” Mr. Narayanasamy told The Hindu here on Sunday.
Mr. Narayanasamy who was on a private visit to Srirangam said that he could not believe that Mr. Purohit conducted review meeting on his own.
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“He could have acted only with the knowledge of ‘power centres’ in New Delhi. What is the need for the Governor conducting review meeting with officials when there is an elected government in Tamil Nadu? It is obvious that the BJP is trying to rule the State by proxy, taking advantage of the current political situation,” Mr. Narayanasamy added.
The BJP government at the Centre was trying to replicate in Tamil Nadu what it had been doing in Puducherry, where, he said, the interference by Lieutenant Governor Kiran Bedi in day-to-day administration had undermined the elected government. “She is acting against the people’s mandate.”
Mr. Narayanasamy added that he had taken up the BJP’s “sinister agenda” of weakening the elected governments with the All India Congress Committee (AICC). He regretted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had not acted on his complaints (against the Lt. Governor).
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On the Income Tax raids on the premises of Sasikala and her family, Mr. Narayansamy said he was not certain if the action was based on specific inputs, but felt that subjecting late Chief Minister Jayalalithaa’s residence also to the raids was unfortunate.