PUDUCHERRY: A day after chief minister V Narayanasamy and his cabinet colleagues resigned, the Congress and its allies announced a massive protest on Wednesday, a day before Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the Union territory. The protest is to condemn the BJP-led Centre, the opposition All India NR Congress (AINRC) and the AIADMK for toppling the Congress government.
The protest venue is close to the Anglo-French Textiles grounds where Modi will address a public meeting. Police have tightened security in the town. Two companies of central reserve paramilitary forces have reached Puducherry to assist police in security measures.
Modi, during his almost twohour stay, will launch a series of projects, besides addressing a public meeting before visiting Coimbatore in the afternoon.
The Congress and its allies were busy making arrangements for the protest on Tuesday. Puducherry Pradesh Congress Committee president A V Subramanian, who announced the protest, accused the BJP of luring MLAs with money, making false promises of offering them ministerial berths in future and threatening a few others with raids from the Central Bureau of Investigation, Income Tax and Enforcement Directorate to betray the Congress and shift their loyalty to the saffron party.
"The BJP-led Centre has murdered democratic principles and values by dislodging the Congress government.We will hold a massive protest at 10am near Anna Statue in the town limits to condemn the communal BJP's anti-democratic activities,” Subramanian said and added that allies also would take part in the agitation.
The Congress ministry fell after the speaker of the legislative assembly V P Sivakozhunthu, without putting the confidence motion moved by Narayanasamy to vote when the House convened on Monday, declared that the government had lost its majority in the assembly.
The Puducherry BJP unit claimed that the party was not responsible for the Narayanasamy government's fall and maintained that the government lost its majority after five of its MLAs and an MLA of its ally, the DMK, resigned in the last 30 days.
None of the opposition parties staked claim to form the government.
Meanwhile, President Ram Nath Kovind accepted the resignation of chief minister V Narayanasamy and his cabinet colleagues with effect from February 22, said additional secretary (home affairs) Govind Mohan in a notification.
Puducherry chief secretary Ashwani Kumar said the Union home ministry's notification was republished in the government gazette.