Ahead of Rahul Gandhi's Pondy visit, trouble mounts for Cong govt as one more Cong MLA resigns
Puducherry: One more ruling Congress legislator A John Kumar, a close confidant of Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanasamy, resigned his MLA post on Tuesday, in yet another jolt to the ruling Congress dispensation ahead of the assembly polls due in few months.
Kumar, who was elected from the Kamaraj Nagar constituency in 2019 bypoll, is the fourth Congress lawmaker to quit the party ahead of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's visit to Puducherry on Wednesday to kick-start the Congress poll campaign.
His resignation comes close on the heels of senior party legislator Malladi Krishna Rao, who had earlier quit as Health minister, resigning from the post of MLA on Monday.
John Kumar called on Speaker V P Sivakolundhu at his office and handed over his handwritten letter of resignation, official sources said.
The Speaker told PTI he was perusing the letter and would take a decision soon. He said he had received Malladi Krishna Rao's resignation letter from the House through fax on Monday night.
With his resignation, the strength of the ruling Congress in the territorial assembly has come down to ten and both the treasury and the opposition will now have 14 members each.
The assembly has 30 elected seats and three nominated seats.
Already two Ministers, A Namassivayam and Malladi Krishna Rao, and a Congress member E.Theeppainjan had quit the posts of MLA during the last couple of months while N.Dhanavelou was disqualified for alleged anti-party activities in July last year.
The Congress headed by V Narayanasamy has been depending on the support of the three-member DMK and a lone legislator from Mahe N Ramachandran.
On the opposition side, AINRC has seven members while AIADMK has four and the Bharatiya Janata party three who are nominated members.
The Congress had won 15 assembly seats in the 2016 Assembly polls.
John Kumar first arrived at the residence of the Speaker to hand over his resignation. But he was asked by the speaker to come to his office in the Assembly campus for submission of his letter.
Kumar then drove to the office of the Speaker and handed over the letter, official sources said.
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EAM Jaishankar meets Jamaican PM, gifts over 10 BHISHM Cubes
Kingston (PTI): External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday met Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness and discussed ways to further deepen "political, economic and people-to-people cooperation."
Jaishankar also conveyed greetings from Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Holness.
"Pleased to call on Prime Minister @AndrewHolnessJM in Kingston. Conveyed the greetings of PM @narendramodi," Jaishankar posted on X.
"Discussed deepening our political, economic and people-to-people cooperation. Value his commitment towards further strengthening India-Jamaica relations," the post further read.
Also, the external affairs minister handed over 10 BHISHM (Bharat Health Initiative for Sahyog Hita & Maitri) Cubes as a gift to Jamaica.
"Formally handed over 10 BHISHM Cubes as a gift from India to Jamaica, in the presence of PM @AndrewHolnessJM, Health Minister @christufton and FM @kaminajsmith," Jaishankar posted on X.
"The BHISHM Cube mobile hospital system, designed for rapid deployment, will help Jamaica during disasters and emergencies. The gift of these cubes is a statement of friendship, a commitment to disaster preparedness, and an outcome of innovation," the post said.
Jaishankar arrived in Kingston on Saturday evening, marking the first leg of his nine-day tour of Jamaica, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago, aimed at further strengthening India's strategic and cultural ties with the Caribbean nations.
Earlier in the day, he interacted with the Indian diaspora and discussed India's ongoing transformation in infrastructure, human development and technology-driven governance and entrepreneurship with them.
He also highlighted the cricket bond between both countries as India gifted a scoreboard to Jamaica.
A scoreboard was dedicated at Sabina Park in Kingston. It is the home of the Jamaica cricket team and is the only Test cricket ground in the Caribbean island nation.
The minister expressed hope that the new scoreboard would witness many memorable innings, including those symbolising the enduring friendship between the two countries.
Cricket has long been a strong cultural bridge between India and Jamaica, which is part of the West Indies cricket team.
Jamaican players, including Chris Gayle, Courtney Walsh and Michael Holding, have played a major role in shaping the legacy of West Indies cricket in the international arena, contributing to its dominance in earlier decades and its continued global appeal.
