Puducherry: MLA P Angalane, who quit All India NR Congress party a few days ago but retained his assembly membership, formally joined Congress party on March 23 triggering calls by the People welfare front (PWF) seeking his disqualification on grounds of defection.
PWF also sought the AINRC government to step down as the party lost majority in the Puducherry assembly. PWF demanded the immediate resignation of AINRC founder-leader and chief minister N Rangasamy AINRC now has 14 seats in the 30-member assembly with Angalane joining Congress. The front also sought action against Angalane under anti-defection act.
Puducherry Pradesh Congress Committee president A Namassivayam presented Angalane the primary membership card in the presence of AICC general secretary and former Union minister of state V Narayanasamy and former chief minister V Vaithilingam at Madagadipet.
Angalane was openly accusing Rangasamy for nurturing his own constituency while ignoring other constituencies represented by the party MLAs. He said repeated attempts to gain Rangasamy's attention on various issues faced by people in other constituencies turned futile.
Angalane even went on to the extent of staging a fast inside a government office to register his protest against the government and territorial officials for failing to include beneficiaries from his constituency under several welfare schemes. He raised on the floor of the assembly about issues of grabbing of land owned by French citizens and failure of the government in recovering the properties.
Angalane was first elected as MLA on Congress ticket in 2001. He retained his seat on Congress ticket in 2006 and served as a welfare minister for a few months. He was forced to resign following charges of harassing and torturing his second wife Kavipriya. However he was acquitted by a court in 2008.
When Rangasamy quit Congress and floated AINRC ahead of 2011 assembly polls Angalane too resigned Congress party and MLA post and joined AINRC. He contested on AINRC ticket in 2011 polls and was again elected from the same constituency.
Apart from Angalane, former Puducherry planning authority (PPA) chairman K S P Ramesh, who has been accused of sexually abusing a Class 8 girl and N R Balan, former chief minister R V Janakiraman's son in law, resigned from AINRC recently. Balan has joined Congress while Ramesh has decided to contest against Rangasamy in Kadirkamam constituency. Meanwhile Congress sources maintained that many functionaries and elected members from AINRC will soon quit the party and join Congress
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