Independent legislator P. Angalane sends notice through registered post to the Assembly Secretary for moving a resolution against Speaker R. Selvam.
| Photo Credit: FILE PHOTO
With one more Independent legislator submitting a notice for moving a no-confidence motion against Speaker R. Selvam, the political scenario in the Union Territory is turning volatile once again.
After Independent legislator Nehru alias Kuppusamy, a supporter of Chief Minister N. Rangasamy’s All India N. R Congress in the ruling National Democratic Alliance bloc in the Puducherry Assembly submitted notice seeking a no-confidence motion against the Speaker, another Independent MLA P. Angalane has made a similar move against Mr. Selvam.
Mr. Angalane, a supporter of Bharatiya Janata Party within the NDA, has sent the notice through a registered post to the Assembly Secretary for moving the resolution against Mr. Selvam. According to a government source, the Assembly Secretariat has received Mr. Angalane’s notice on Friday.
The issue of no-confidence against the Speaker has assumed a serious proportion following the decision of Mr.Angalane, as he was one of the three Independents who are in the camp of three disgruntled BJP MLAs — A.John Kumar, his son Richards John Kumar and P.M.L. Kalyanasundaram.
The three BJP legislators had been following a different political line and had even pitched for an alternate front to fight the next Assembly election. Their stand would be crucial in determining the fate of the Speaker. With two Independents alone, there was no threat to Mr. Selvam but if more legislators joined the bandwagon, there would be a crisis, say political observers.
Procedure for removal of Speaker
As per Section 7 (2) (c) of the Union Territories Act 1963, a member wishing to give a notice of a resolution seeking removal of the Speaker should give it in writing at least 14 days before. And according to the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business of the Puducherry Legislative Assembly, a member should get the support of at least one-fifth of the total number of the “then” members of the House to move the resolution.
When coming to the removal, the Act says the Speaker could be removed from his office by a resolution of the Assembly passed by a majority of all the “then” members of the House. The Puducherry Legislative Assembly has a strength of 33 members — 30 elected and 3 nominated.
“As of now, only two legislators have served the notice for moving the resolution. The charges against the Speaker mentioned in both the notices are almost the same. So, we see a pattern. The stand of Opposition parties, Congress and DMK, will be crucial as both the parties together have eight members,” said a political observer.
Stand of Congress and DMK
Opposition leader and DMK convenor R. Siva said the party would take a stand only after consulting the leadership. “As of now only two Independents have given notice for moving a no-confidence motion. It will be difficult to take a decision based on the move by the Independents alone. Anyway, we will take a decision after consulting our leadership in Chennai,” he said.
However, the Congress party wanted the government to immediately convene the House for taking a decision on the notices given by the two MLAs. Pradesh Congress Committee chief and Member of Parliament V. Vaithilingam told The Hindu that the two Independents have expressed their displeasure at the style of functioning of the Speaker.
“In the recent days, all political parties have raised charges against the Speaker and now the MLAs have given notice. So the government should convene the House at the earliest. The Congress will make its stand clear inside the House when permission is sought to move the motion,” Mr. Vaithilingam said.
According to the political observer, there was nothing new in such political developments in the Union Territory though a move to remove a Speaker was being initiated for the first time.
“The Union Territory’s politics is always volatile and as we near the Assembly election, we can see such manoeuvring more often. The present move by the two Independents might lead to another phase of political uncertainty or turn out to be mere pressure tactics by the legislators who have been seeking positions in the government,” the observer said.
Published – December 21, 2024 09:22 pm IST