Tamilisai Sundararajan’s intention to hoist flag in Puducherry on January 26 is both amusing and unacceptable, says former CM
Describing the non-appointment of a full-time Lt Governor as yet another sign of “Centre’s apathy towards the Union Territory”, former Chief Minister V. Narayanasamy said the shortfall would be evident during Republic Day on January 26 when Tamilisai Sundararajan was to pay respects in Puducherry. She will unfurl the national flag as its Governor in Telangana, before running for the post of Governor, where she holds additional charge as the Lieutenant Governor.
Addressing a virtual press conference, Mr. Narayanasamy said that instead of going to such lengths to lead the events in Telangana and Puducherry, Ms. Sundararajan was asked to delegate the task to Chief Minister N. Rangasamy for the celebrations in the Union Territory. Approval should be taken.
Ms. Soundararajan’s intention to hoist the flag here on January 26 is “amusing and unacceptable”, Mr. Narayanasamy said. Instead, he should have led the program in Telangana and let the Chief Minister hoist the flag in Puducherry.
“Otherwise, it can only be interpreted as another example of a clear case of abandoning the democratic features of an elected government along with all the traps of power of the Center and its nominated people,” he said.
Sree Narayanasamy alleged that there was already a perception that all important decisions were being taken at the Raj Niwas and that it was a “dummy government” in Puducherry.
The Congress leader said this is not the first time that someone is holding the additional charge of the Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry, but it would certainly be unprecedented for someone to hoist the tricolor for Republic Day at two places.
When Virendra Kataria was removed from the post of Lieutenant Governor in 2014, the administrator of Andaman and Nicobar Islands Lt Gen (retd) AK Singh was given the additional responsibility of the Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry in 2014. However, when Mr. Singh hoisted the flag in Andaman during the Republic Day celebrations in 2015, the honor of hoisting the flag was handed over to the then Chief Minister N. Rangasamy.
Claiming that the dual responsibility is preventing Ms. Soundararajan from focusing her full attention on Telangana or Puducherry, Mr. Narayanasamy said the right thing to do for the Center is to immediately appoint a Lieutenant Governor for Puducherry.
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