Newly-installed Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry Tamilisai Soundararajan on Thursday directed the Assembly Secretariat to convene the Assembly on February 22.
A release issued by Raj Nivas said the the single agenda of the Assembly session should be to prove whether the incumbent Chief Minister has got the confidence of the House.
The voting of agenda will be done by show of hands. The entire proceedings should be completed by 5 p. m. The proceedings will be video graphed and it should not be adjourned, delayed or suspended, the release said.
The Lt. Governor noted that consequent to the disqualification of one member of the House and resignation of four others, the strength stands altered where the Congress and allies are deadlocked with Opposition with 14 seats each. The Congress has 10 legislators, DMK three and one Independent while in the Oppositon the AINRC has seven, the AIADMK four and the BJP three.
The Lt. Governor has also directed all authorities to conduct the proceedings in a peaceful manner.
Opposition leaders call on Lt. Governor
Earlier in the day, Opposition leader N. Rangasamy on Thursday said the Lt. Governor had given them an assurance to execute her responsibilities on their demand seeking floor test to prove majority of ruling Congress as per rules.
Talking to reporters after calling on the Lt. Governor on Thursday noon, the AINRC chief said Dr. Soundararajan has agreed to look into the demand of the Opposition parties. “She has agreed to act according to the provisions of the Constitution,”
AIADMK leader A. Anbalagan, who was part of the delegation, said he had requested the Lt. Governor to reopen the Public Distribution Outlets as early as possible. He also requested the Lt. Governor to disburse the pending salary to employees working in cooperative societies and government run boards. Nominated legislator and BJP president V. Saminathan was also part of the delegation.