Puducherry CM Rangasamy ready to resign over statehood: ‘We cannot continue without powers…’

In a significant political statement, Puducherry Chief Minister N Rangasamy has said he is prepared to resign from his post if it helps strengthen the Union Territory’s demand for full statehood.

Speaking in the Puducherry Assembly on Friday, Rangasamy said the existing Union Territory structure leaves the elected government without adequate powers and creates difficulties in taking decisions and implementing development programmes.

“I am ready to quit to reinforce our demand for statehood,” the chief minister said during a discussion in the House, adding that political representatives from Puducherry could collectively travel to New Delhi and place the demand before the Central government.

The remarks have brought renewed attention to an issue that has remained politically sensitive in Puducherry for years.

Opposition calls for united protest

The discussion began after Leader of Opposition A M H Nazeem, representing the DMK, called for a united political protest over what he described as the Centre’s delay in approving statehood for Puducherry.

Nazeem urged legislators cutting across party lines to come together and press the demand more strongly.

Ruling AINRC legislator A John Kumar also participated in the debate and suggested that Puducherry should be given special category status.

However, the broader discussion quickly centred on the demand for full statehood.

‘Puducherry cannot remain without powers’

Responding to the opposition, Rangasamy said he was fully aware of the problems faced by the elected government because Puducherry continues to remain a Union Territory.

The chief minister said the lack of sufficient powers for both the government and the territorial Assembly has affected administration.

According to Rangasamy, he has raised the statehood issue with the Centre on several occasions, including directly with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during one of Modi’s recent visits to Puducherry.

“I have specifically told the Prime Minister that it is a matter of concern for us that we continue to remain without powers,” Rangasamy said.

He argued that statehood is necessary for faster development, smoother governance and quicker implementation of welfare and infrastructure schemes.

Rangasamy says statehood necessary for development

The AINRC chief, who returned as Puducherry chief minister for a fifth term in June 2026, currently heads the government in the 30-member Assembly.

Rangasamy maintained that full statehood would give the elected government greater administrative authority and help reduce delays in important decisions.

His remarks also carry wider political significance because Puducherry has repeatedly witnessed debates over the division of powers between its elected government and the Union Territory administration.

The demand for statehood has consequently remained one of the region’s most persistent political issues.

MLAs say they are also ready to quit

Rangasamy’s declaration triggered an unusual show of unity inside the Assembly.

Following the chief minister’s remarks, several legislators from both the ruling and opposition benches said they too were prepared to resign their posts if such a step was needed to strengthen Puducherry’s statehood campaign.

The development suggested that the demand could potentially emerge as a rare issue on which rival political parties in the Union Territory find common ground.

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Assembly has passed statehood resolutions before

Pro tem Speaker A Anbalagan reminded members that the Puducherry Assembly had adopted resolutions seeking statehood on several occasions in the past.

However, Anbalagan rejected the suggestion that special category status could serve as an alternative.

He argued that Puducherry would not be able to meet several of the required conditions for receiving such a status and said the political focus should therefore remain firmly on full statehood.

Recent political developments have also kept the question of Puducherry’s administrative powers in focus. Opposition leaders have continued to accuse the government of failing to secure greater rights and authority for the Union Territory from the Centre.

Will Puducherry’s statehood campaign intensify?

Rangasamy’s willingness to publicly link his own position as chief minister with the statehood demand could give fresh momentum to the campaign.

For now, however, his remarks amount to a political declaration rather than an immediate resignation announcement.

What happens next will depend on whether Puducherry’s ruling and opposition parties convert the unity displayed inside the Assembly into a coordinated campaign in New Delhi.

But the chief minister’s message was unmistakable: in his view, Puducherry’s development can no longer be separated from the question of how much political and administrative power its elected government actually possesses.