The agitation by the ruling Congress-led Secular Democratic Alliance here, demanding the recall of Lt Governor Kiran Bedi for "impeding developmental plans and welfare measures of the elected government," entered the second day on Saturday.
Besides Chief Minister V Narayanasamy, PCC president A V Subramanian, Ministers, Congress legislators, workers and delegates of different wings of the CPI, CPI(M) and VCK participated in the agitation
However, leaders and workers of the DMK, an ally of the Congress, were conspicuous by their absence on Saturday too.
VCK leader Tol Thirumavalavan and Tamil Nadu CPI Secretary Mutharasan were among those who addressed the participants and criticised the "undemocratic style of functioning of the Lt Governor".
Muthursan said that if Prime Minister Narendra Modi believed in democracy and welfare of the people, he should intervene and ensure that Bedi is replaced She was only an officer appointed by the Centre to the post of Lt Governor and has no right to stall welfare measures of the elected government, he said.
He also alleged that the Centre was adopting a fascist and autocratic attitude in trying to end the ongoing agitation by farmers on the borders of Delhi.
The Chief Minister had alleged that the PM and Bedi "hatched a conspiracy to dismantle the separate (union territory) status of Puducherry and merge it with Tamil Nadu." He had also accused them of being keen on depriving the people of Puducherry of their rights, a charge already rubbished by the Lt Governor.
Bedi, a former IPS officer, and Narayanasamy have been at loggerheads over various issues ever since she was appointed Lt Governor in May 2016, with the ruling Congress accusing her of going against decisions of the government.