Home Minister A. Namassivayam is among the four candidates shortlisted by the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) local unit for contesting in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections from Puducherry, MP and BJP president (Puducherry) S. Selvaganabathy said here on Saturday.
“We have recommended the names of four local functionaries for contesting from the Puducherry seat. Mr. Namassivayam is one of them. We have also informed the party high command that, if a person from outside the Union Territory is considered for the seat, we will work towards ensuring the victory of that candidate,” Mr. Selvaganabathy said in a press conference.
He recalled the candidature of Mohan Kumaramangalam from Puducherry in the past, highlighting that the latter, whose native was Tamil Nadu, contested from Puducherry on a Congress ticket, and won the seat. So, there is nothing wrong in someone from outside Puducherry contesting here, Mr. Selvaganabathy said.
Complaint against former CM
Coming down heavily on former Chief Minister V. Narayanasamy for his statement linking one of the accused persons in the murder of a nine-year-old girl to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the party president said the functionaries of the RSS and BJP have already given a complaint to the cyber wing of the Puducherry police demanding the registration of a case against Mr. Narayanasamy for his “irresponsible” statement.
“Mr. Narayanasamy has made a blatant lie. We have launched a complaint with the police, and we will file a defamation petition against him in the court. He is trying to make his relevance felt in Puducherry by making such statements,” he said.
Electoral bonds row
The former Chief Minister, Mr. Selvaganabathy said, has “no credentials” to speak about the Prime Minister. Electoral bonds were introduced to bring in transparency in funding to political parties, he said, adding that the BJP has received the highest amount of funds because it is the ruling party at the Centre, and in majority of the States.
“If BJP getting the maximum share of the bonds is the problem, how will someone explain political parties ruling in a single State getting hundreds of crores. The Trinamool Congress (TMC) received around ₹1,600 crore, and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) got around ₹600 crore. The BJP has been in power at the Centre for the last ten years, and has been ruling some of the States for several years,” he pointed out.
