With the day-and-night agitation by Chief Minister V. Narayanasamy, his Cabinet colleagues and Congress and DMK legislators at the entrance of Raj Nivas to protest against the style of functioning of Lt. Governor Kiran Bedi gathering support from other political parties, the ruling Congress has decided to up the ante against Ms. Bedi by organising a series of parallel protests in other parts of the Union Territory.
AICC Secretary in-charge of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, Sanjay Dutt, and TNCC president K.S Alagiri called on the protesters at the venue on Friday. DMK president M.K. Stalin will reach Puducherry on Sunday to express solidarity with the Chief Minister and his Cabinet colleagues. Mr. Stalin is expected to arrive at the protest venue around noon, said a Puducherry Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) functionary.
DMK Rajya Sabha member Kanimozhi made a phone call to the Chief Minister on Saturday and extended support to the agitation. Mr. Narayanasamy also received a phone call from the West Bengal Chief Minister’s Office seeking details of the agitation, said a source in the government.
In another significant development, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal expressed support to the Congress government. Mr. Kejriwal, who closely worked with Ms. Bedi in the India Against Corruption campaign, tweeted on Saturday that an elected Chief Minister was forced to sleep on the road for the last three nights.
“What kind of democracy is this? Those elected by the voters are begging in front of those defeated (an apparent reference to Ms Bedi’s defeat in the last Assembly elections,” he said.
Mr. Kejriwal, who is engaged in a similar turf war with the Lt. Governor of New Delhi, sought to know why the voters of Puducherry and Delhi were ‘inferior’ to those of other States.
Rahul’s initiative
Congress president Rahul Gandhi has asked party treasurer Ahmed Patel, AICC general secretary Mukul Wasnik and Lok Sabha member K.C. Venugopal to take up the issues faced by the Congress government here with the Union Ministry of Home Affairs. They are likely to call on Home Minister Rajnath Singh.
In a move to put more pressure on the Lt. Governor, the Congress and its alliance partners have decided to organise agitations in Puducherry, Karaikal and Yanam regions till February 21, the day Ms. Bedi returns to the administrative headquarters from New Delhi.
On Saturday, public meetings were held at 12 places in Puducherry. In the coming days, the ruling Congress-DMK combine will organise demonstrations in front of Central government offices, despatch telegrams to President, hold street corner meetings and a major dharna to condemn Ms. Bedi’s interference in the day-to-day affairs of the administration.
