Congress leader says DMK not acting as effective Opposition in Puducherry Assembly
Puducherry — Member of Parliament (Lok Sabha) and president of the Puducherry Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC), V. Vaithilingam, on Saturday accused the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) of failing to perform as an effective Opposition in the Union Territory.
Speaking at a press conference at the PPCC office, Mr. Vaithilingam criticised the behaviour of both ruling and Opposition legislators in the Assembly and said the principal Opposition party had not discharged its responsibilities adequately. He raised several governance concerns, including delays in holding local body elections and the absence of a bench of the Madras High Court in Puducherry.
"It was very difficult to differentiate between the ruling party and the Opposition party members because of their conduct in the Assembly. The DMK has failed to fulfil its responsibility as the Principal Opposition party in Puducherry," Mr. Vaithilingam said.
Mr. Vaithilingam asked the territorial government to publish a white paper on local body polls, saying the Justice Sasidharan Commission had recommended reservation for Other Backward Classes (OBC) in Municipality and Commune Panchayat elections. He argued there was no legal impediment to holding the elections and expressed concern that a State Election Commissioner had not yet been appointed.
- Demand: White paper on local body elections in Puducherry.
- Reference: Justice Sasidharan Commission recommended OBC reservation for municipal and commune panchayat polls.
- Administrative gap: No State Election Commissioner appointed, delaying polls according to the PPCC president.
On the judiciary, Mr. Vaithilingam noted that the Centre had recently decided to set up a bench of the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir in Ladakh and contrasted that with the long-standing demand for a Madras High Court bench in Puducherry. He pointed out that Ladakh has a much smaller population than Puducherry, and questioned why the demand for a local bench had not been addressed.
He also said the Congress would launch an agitation over two issues: the delay in conducting local body elections and the postponement in establishing a Madras High Court bench in the Union Territory. Mr. Vaithilingam attributed the inaction on local bodies to a lack of political will and administrative follow-through.
| Issue | PPCC position |
|---|---|
| Local body elections | White paper demanded; cite Justice Sasidharan Commission's OBC reservation recommendation |
| State Election Commissioner | Not appointed; seen as a hurdle to holding polls |
| Madras High Court bench | Congress to agitate for prompt establishment; compared unfavourably with Ladakh decision |
Mr. Vaithilingam also criticised the ruling All India N.R. Congress (AINRC)-Bharatiya Janata Party alliance for not pursuing the High Court bench demand vigorously. He said Chief Minister N. Rangasamy, who has advocated Statehood for Puducherry as a means to strengthen elected governance, should equally pursue devolution of power to local bodies. The PPCC leader maintained that meaningful devolution would require clearing administrative hurdles and holding timely elections to municipal and panchayat bodies.
The press conference reiterated the Congress party's intention to press its demands through public mobilisation. No timetable for the proposed agitation was announced at the briefing, and Mr. Vaithilingam confined his remarks to the need for transparency on the local polls process and for urgent steps toward setting up a High Court bench that would serve Puducherry litigants.
