Ex-Puducherry CM Narayanasamy accuses Speaker of flouting guidelines during confidence motion

PUDUCHERRY: V Narayanasamy who tendered his resignation as Puducherry Chief Minister on Monday charged that Speaker V P Sivakolunthu flouted guidelines in declaring the confidence motion moved by him defeated in the territorial assembly.

After he moved the motion and addressed the house, government whip R K R Anantharaman posed a question to the Speaker whether the three nominated members had the right to vote in the confidence motion.

He said when the nominated members could not vote in the presidential election, they also could not take part in the confidence vote. When the Speaker did not respond to this, stating that he is going to Raj Nivas to resign his post, they walked out of the house.  

However, after they went out, the Speaker announced that the confidence vote sought by him was defeated, Narayanasamy said, adding that this was not proper as per the guidelines and he should have sent the motion for voting.

Even if the treasury bench was absent, the speaker should have counted the strength of the opposition voting against the motion and then announced that the motion was defeated, he said.

Hence the Speaker's ruling is incorrect and invalid. This is a legal issue and legal experts are being consulted on it, he added.