Hectic activity in Congress camp

By S. Nadarajan

PONDICHERRY OCT. 20. Even as the date of swearing in of the new ministry being headed by Mr. N. Rangasamy is yet to be finalised as the communication from the Union Home Ministry is awaited in response to the Lt. Governor's message, there is intense activity in the Congress quarters here to finalise the list of ministers.

The strength of the Congress-led alliance is 17 after the Puducherry Makkal Congress with four members and two Independents pledged `unconditional' support.

There was much speculation on the position of the AIADMK and the TMC, crucial supporters of the outgoing Ministry. The 11-member Congress was backed by three AIADMK members and two from the TMC. The Speaker, Mr. M.D.R. Ramachandharan, belongs to the AIADMK.

There is, however, an impression that the support of these two to the Congress is presently superfluous because of the strength of 17 available in the 30-member House.

Today, the PCC leader, Mr. V. Narayanasamy, was busy holding talks with Mr. Rangasamy and the PMC founder, Mr. P. Kannan, among others. All pros and cons of ministry formation are reportedly being examined to maintain proper balance among the constituents including Independents.

Decision hailed

The president of the Janata Dal (Secular), Mr. E. Ganesan, has thanked the Congress high command for choosing Mr. Rangasamy. This has enabled realisation of the dream of the BC people.

Berths for SC sought

The general secretary of the Pondicherry unit of Dalit Sena, Mr. V. Subramanian, today called upon the new ministry to ensure that there were berths for the representatives of the Scheduled Caste constituencies.

In a statement, he welcomed the selection of Mr. Rangasamy belonging to the BC community and thanked the AICC leader, Ms. Sonia Gandhi.

He said representatives of the SC constituencies should be inducted in the ministry. All five members elected from the reserved segments (four in Pondicherry and one in Karaikal) are now in the Congress-led front.

Of the five, Mr. M. Chandrakasu (Congress), loyalist of the outgoing Chief Minister, Mr. P. Shanmugham, is the Deputy Speaker and represents Neduncadu in Karaikal.

Mr. P. Rajavelu, who quit the Congress on the eve of the May 10 Assembly polls and joined the PMC, represents Bahoor. He had served for a short period in 1990 as Welfare Minister.

The Congress has two, Mr. Neela Gangadharan and Mr. P. Angalan, who are first timers in the Assembly. Mr. A. Elumalai (PMC) was elected from Oussudu. He retained the seat in the last poll.

The convenor of the Dalit People's Protection Centre, Mr. Chitra Singaraj, requested that a member from SC constituency be given ministership. He praised the Congress and its allies for choosing a member of the BC community for Chief Minister.

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