Puducherry CM sought minister’s removal even before her resignation: Governor

Governor Soundararajan also refuted Minister Chandriga’s claim that she was discriminated against for being a Dalit.

In a new twist, Puducherry Lt Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan on Wednesday said Chief Minister N Rangasamy had requested her to remove Transport Minister Chandira Priyanga from the cabinet after being “unsatisfied” with her performance much before she announced her resignation publicly.

Soundararajan also refuted Chandriga’s claim that she was discriminated against for being a Dalit. The lone woman minister of the Rangasamy cabinet had on Tuesday resigned from the AINRC-BJP coalition government, raising charges of “caste and gender” discrimination against her.

“Six months back, the Chief Minister came to me and expressed his dissatisfaction over the performance of Chandriga. However, I told him to keep her in the Cabinet as she was the lone woman representative. But the Chief Minister met me again and sought her removal from the Cabinet,” Soundararajan told reporters here.

The governor suggested that Chandriga will not be part of the Cabinet anymore not because she has resigned but due to the Chief Minister’s recommendation.

The Lt. Governor also said she never saw or heard about Chandriga being discriminated against because of her caste. “She was the lone woman minister in the Cabinet. She could have easily come to me and complained if she faced any discrimination. As a woman, I would have definitely heard her,” she added.

The legislator, who was elected from Neduncadu reserved constituency in Karaikal region of the Union Territory, on Tuesday posted a statement announcing her resignation on her social media pages.

“Though I entered the Assembly through people’s confidence, I realised that it is not so easy to overcome the politics of conspiracy. I could not continue my fight against money power. I didn’t know that pride over my Dalit identity was a problem for others. I felt I was being continuously subjected to caste and gender bias,” she said in her statement.