Image credit : Illustrative Image

Chennai: Power struggle in Puducherry intensified on Monday after speaker refused to recognize the three nominated MLAs, all belonging to the BJP.

In an official communication, the three BJP leaders of Puducherry — BJP Puducherry unit president RV Saminathan, treasurer KG Shankar and office secretary S Selvagapathy – Puducherry speaker’s secretary said “the speaker has rejected your claim of being nominated MLAs saying that the appointment itself was flawed and void.”

State BJP president RV Saminathan reacted strongly and said that the speaker was totally wrong and it was not within his powers to reject recognition of MLAs nominated by the central government.

“We will go to the assembly on November 23 when it opens. We will protest there,” he said and added the BJP central leadership was seized of the issue.

Even since former IPS official Kiran Bedi became the Lt Governor of Puducherry last May, the state has become a hotspot with direct confrontation between the elected government of the Congress and the centre’s nominee.

Her strong personality and alleged interference in day to day affairs of the government and interacting with government official directly was resented by the elected representatives, including chief minister V Narayansamy.

Bedi has also raised the corruption issue in medical college admissions and issues of governance and has taken initiatives that have annoyed the elected government.

Narayanswamy had opposed the nomination of three BJP leaders to assembly saying that never before had the elected government been ignored in nominating MLAs.

The three nominated MLAs had applied to the speaker for recognition as members of the Puducherry assembly, that was pending with him for the past several days. On Monday, he officially rejected their application to be recognized as members of the house.

In identical letters to the three BJP leaders, the secretary to the speaker conveyed to them that speaker had rejected their plea.

“The honorable speaker is of the considered view that your nomination was made by the incompetent authority and without jurisdiction in contravention of the provisions of the Constitution of India and the Government of Union Territories Act 1963, and hence void,” said a letter written by the speaker’s secretary. The speaker was of the view that just because oath of affirmation was administered by the governor did not mean that he had to recognize them as members.