CONGRESS HIGH COMMAND IN SLUMBER :

WATCHING CONSTITUTIONAL FAILURE

 [On 3rd July 2008 the Student Congress had given a call for bandh in Puducherry to condemn the Chief Secretary. All the Ministers in the cabinet had given letters to All India Congress Committee that they have no confidence in Chief Minister N.Rangasamy. All the Congress M.L.A"s baring two including nominated members had also given written letters to party high command expressing no confidence in the Chief Minister.The Speaker and Deputy Speaker had given letters that whomsoever high command says they will accept as alternative Chief Minister. Having lost confidence, shamelessly, N.Rangasamy deployed his loyal DMK legislators, who got nose cut from DMK President and Treasurer. " Go and build our party, who should be CM is Congress party decision, the DMK high command made it clear. The AICC decision asking Rangasamy to submit resignation was conveyed on 27th June, which triggered a CM sponsored unrest in Puducherry. There was a plot on the life of Chief Secretary, who had reported to the Home Secretary, Government of India, and as per the directions from above armed police protection is provided to the Chief Secretary. No where in the long history since independence, a Chief Minister will continue, even after loosing majority support. In this issue a bandh to cripple life is being organized tommorow with the tacit support of N.Rangasamy. In order to make the public aware, since media here lives under phobia, we are reproducing our complaint to the Lt.Governor of Puducherry, whom it is learnt had taken necessary steps.]

HIS EXCELLENCY THE LT.GOVERNOR OF PUDUCHERRY       28^th June 2008Lt.Colonel Bhupender Singh 

Respected Sir

Subject: The continuing tirade against the Chief Secretary by the Chief Minister’s camp including the privilege issue raked up by the Hon’ble Speaker regarding. 

Today’s news papers, more particularly Dinakaran, Tamil daily carried a news story about a letter purported to be written by the Hon’ble Speaker of the Puducherry Assembly Mr.R.Radhakrishnan, wherein as per reports, he had demanded the sacking of the Chief Secretary, since his remarks amounts to be breach of privilege. Let us examine the background of the issue.

The Student Congress in a statement alleged that the Chief Secretary had spoken in a meeting of government officials that the Cabinet is comprised of robbers. Based on this press statement the CPI legislator R.Viswanathan, lodged a complaint with the Speaker, that the speech of the Chief Secretary amounts to breach of privilege, and the Puducherry Government must urge the Union Home Ministry to recall the Chief Secretary and to take due action against Chief Secretary. Another DMK legislator had too made similar demand on privilege issue. So far this is what we know from media reports. None of the Cabinet colleagues of Chief Minister, who should have been offended, if at all such remarks were made, did lodge any complaint with the Speaker.

1. This issue reveals few facts. A mere statement by a Student wing of Congress forms the basis on which two legislators from supporting parties to the Government had raised privilege issue which reached the Speaker yesterday. The Speaker immediately writes letters to His Excellency the Lt.Governor and Hon’ble Chief Minister urging them to remove the Chief Secretary and also sent the issue to privilege committee.

I referred to the book Practice and Procedure of Parliament published by Loksabha Secretariat [1968, 1972,1978,1986,1991, 1995, and finally in 2001] All these publications state “In practice, the House usually refers almost all questions of privilege to the Committee and reserves its judgment until the report of the committee is presented.” These lines reminded me that Puducherry Assembly is not in session, the Honourable Members could have waited to raise the issue when Assembly meets. Even admitting they can raise the issue now, the Hon’ble Speaker had referred the matter to the privileges committee. There ends his role at this juncture. He should await the report of privileges committee and after the committee pronounces its report spell his judgment. Hon’ble Speaker is not content with sending to Privileges Committee, but writes immediately to the Chief Minister and to Lt.Governor. This reveals act of vendetta. 

“When the question of privilege is referred to the committee by the House or the Speaker, a memorandum on the subject is prepared by the Secretariat for the consideration of the committee. The memorandum sets out briefly the issues involved, the facts of the case, and the law, practice and precedents bearing on the question " This procedure is not followed, instead just on receipt of two letters from legislators, without even giving a chance to explain whether Chief Secretary spoke or not as in accordance with natural justice, the Speaker writing letters to the Lt.Governor and the Chief Minister clearly proves this is vindictiveness, or done to please Chief Minister, who is at loggerheads with the Chief Secretary. Chief Minister is in loggerheads with all his Cabinet colleagues, is another story. 

Whole of Puducherry knows the Chief Minister was having bonhomie with Mr.Khairwal, the Former Chief Secretary listed as 4 th in the list of nation wide corrupt officials published by Central Vigilance Commission under Mr.N.Vittal. Thereafter  Mr.Pradeep Mehra or Mr.Rakesh Bihari, current Chief Secretary, who all insists that governance should be in accordance with law, has become targets of hate and attacks by Chief Minister’s yes-men in bureaucracy and political spectrum. Recently there were sponsored hate posters against Chief Secretary. There were threats to the life of Chief Secretary, media reported and police protection provided to Chief Secretary demonstrating the failure of law and order in this territory.

In this connection, I urge your Excellency to look into a complaint, I had made to the President of India, dated 28^th February 2008, which is enclosed. The Tamil Daily Dinakaran dated 26^th February 2008 carried a story titled “For Educational Financial Assistance, Chief Secretary is a stumbling block; Chief Minister’s open accusation”. This relates to a protest march of students, who met the Chief Minister in his chamber, where by this remarks, he had instigated the students against Chief Secretary. Dravida Peravai in its memorandum to Her Excellency The President, Hon’ble Prime Minster and all his cabinet colleagues had charged the Chief Minister with violation of oath of secrecy and his public condemnation of bureaucracy as un becoming from a responsible Chief Minister.

The Chief Minister had taken many decisions bypassing the cabinet which is unconstitutional and Dravida Peravai, in person had given memorandum to then Lt.Governor Mukut Mithi urging him to send a Report to the Central Government on the constitutional failure in this Union
Territory and recommend for the imposition of Presidents rule under Article 356 of the Constitution of India. Similar demand was made to Hon’ble Prime Minister of India, quoting recent judgments on Cabinet being bypassed by individual Chief Minister.

We urge you to place all our complaints before Union Home Ministry and ensure that governance in this territory is by a Chief Minister who enjoys majority in the assembly, who respects collective decisions of cabinet system, and who maintains harmony with Lt.Governor’s of the day and one who treats the bureaucracy with due respect, following the constitutional niceties in letter and spirit.

With Regards Yours fraternally  N.Nandhivarman General Secretary Dravida Peravai

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