Elected Government Sidelined in Puducherry, Statehood Demand Raised Again

The Chief Minister (CM) of Puducherry Union Territory (UT), N Rangasamy, on November 14, 2021, made a statement in the 29th Southern zonal council meeting held in Tirupati on the statehood demand. Before this, the CM, during a discussion in the assembly on September 1, 2021, said that the centre had decided on the statehood demand.

Since then, the dominance of the Lieutenant Governor (LG) has only increased while the elected CM seems to have been sidelined from the day-to-day administration of the UT. Dr Tamilisai Soundarrajan, the LG-in-charge, also the governor of Telangana, is more visible in action than the CM.

With the elected government being overshadowed and the LG dominating the affairs, the demand for statehood seems a distant dream for the residents of the UT, which merged with the Indian Union on August 16, 1962, from being a French colony.

DEMAND FOR STATEHOOD

The UT has been demanding statehood for a long time, with the region being unable to exercise any powers on developmental activities. The introduction of goods and services tax (GST) has choked the income of the UT, and the dependence on the Union government for funds has only increased since then.

Employment creation has been a constant challenge, with a high rate of unemployment leading to protests from youth. Tourism remains the primary source of income, with commercial tax being the other. The UT has been demanding an increase in the share of the Union government from 60% to 90% for centrally sponsored schemes, highlighting the financial constraints of the UT.

After being silent for months after assuming office, Rangasamy raised the demand for statehood in the southern zonal council meeting in the presence of the Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

The CM had eluded confidence in obtaining statehood multiple times, including when he said that the centre had decided to concede the demand in the assembly.

But, former CM V Narayanaswamy claimed that such a statement was not true and accused Rangasamy of misleading the people. He also pointed out the Prime Minister's silence during his visit to the UT in June on demand for statehood.

The Congress and its allies have held several protests during its tenure against the domination of LG, while N Rangasamy has remained silent since assuming office.

WHY IS THE CM SIDELINED?

The All India NR Congress (AINRC), led by the CM Rangasamy, and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), stitched a pre-poll alliance after Congress lost yet another government due to defections. The alliance managed to secure a majority, and the CM was sworn in on May 7.

The tussle between the AINRC and BJP over the appointment of the deputy CM and the BJP legislators fighting for berths delayed the formation of the cabinet for more than 50 days.

The Union Home Ministry nominated three BJP members to the assembly when the CM was hospitalised in Chennai for COVID-19 treatment.

"Since then, the CM has been forced to take the back seat," said RK Radhakrishnan, a senior journalist with Frontline.

"The CM has been completely sidelined, and the environment is BJP enabled," he said.

The absence of the CM on public events is notable, while the LG has been seen everywhere, inaugurating several programs and holding review meetings with officials. LG Tamilisai was the president of the Tamil Nadu state unit of the BJP before being appointed as the Governor of Telangana. He was later given an additional charge and replaced Kiran Bedi in Puducherry.

"The BJP even denied nominating AINRC candidate to the upper house of the parliament, and the only thing Rangasamy is doing is sitting tight on the chair," Radhakrishnan said.

'UNELECTED OFFICIAL RUNNING THE SHOW'

Puducherry is one of the three UTs to have an assembly in the country; others being Delhi and Jammu & Kashmir (legislature yet to be elected after J&K was made a UT in 2019).

The decision to form a UT was based on the political and economic status of the region and the necessity for the support of the Union government; the territories have lost out on the further decision on diluting the powers of the elected representatives.

"The unelected official in Puducherry is doing things as per the wishes of the Home Ministry in Delhi. The elected government is being sidelined. It is wasteful to elect 30 MLAs and stuck with the LG, who function as they wish," Radhakrishnan said.

The COVID-19 task force meeting was held on January 21 and was chaired by the LG. The CM has been found missing in such important public events.

The political willpower of the AINRC is also being questioned since the party is unable to challenge BJP on key decisions.

"The AINRC could soon disintegrate and make way for the BJP as is happening in many states, where the BJP is swallowing small parties," he added.

Though the CM had raised the demand for statehood in the presence of the Union Home Minister, the happenings before and after suggest the increasing hold of the LG could mean that the demand may not materialise in the near future.