Puducherry CM unfazed; to continue protest

An unfazed Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanasamy on Thursday said he would continue with his dharna outside the Raj Nivas against Lt Governor Kiran Bedi, which entered its second day, till his demands, including free hand in taking administrative decisions, are met.

Narayanasamy and his colleagues, who surprised everyone including the L-G on Wednesday afternoon by sitting on a dharna outside the Raj Nivas’ main gate, continued their protest through Wednesday night and even slept on the road. Even while the Chief Minister and the entire cabinet was on the streets, L-G left the city for Chennai on

Thursday morning to participate in a private event.

#Puducherry Chief Minister V #Narayanasamy continued his dharna through the night; video of him reading the newspaper this morning. He had last night rejected #kiranbedi offer for talks. He wants demands to be met immediately. | @DeccanHerald pic.twitter.com/J1Lgdb4CKZ

— Sivapriyan E.T.B. (@sivaetb) February 14, 2019

As the protest entered its second day and Congress workers also took to streets by protesting across the Union Territory, Narayanasamy declared that he would not call off the dharna until his demands are met by the L-G.

“I am not going to budge from my stand. Let the L-G fulfil the demands and I will call off the dharna,” he said even as he continued to sign files from the dharna site. He also clarified that he was not against making helmet compulsory, but only want the rule to be implemented in phases.

Narayanasamy also received support from Congress’ ally, the DMK, with its president calling him over the phone. “The latest political standoff in Puducherry shows that the BJP has turned Governors into General Secretaries. The episode once again makes us ponder whether there is a need to relook at Governor’s post,” Stalin tweeted.

Narayanasamy had on Wednesday night rejected the offer by Bedi for talks, saying he would call off the protest only when his demands are fulfilled by the L-G.

The latest showdown between the top functionaries of the Union Territory was on mandatory wearing of helmets. Though the government wanted the rule to be implemented in phases after creating awareness among the public, the L-G went ahead with it and was even seen enforcing the rule by stopping people on two-wheelers and asking them to wear the safety gear on major roads in the city.