The Puducherry Legislative Assembly (French: Assemblée législative de Pondichéry) is the unicameral legislature of the Indian union territory (UT) of Puducherry, which comprises four districts: Puducherry, Karaikal, Mahé and Yanam. Out of eight union territories of India, only three have legislatures and they are Delhi[note 1], Puducherry[note 2] and Jammu and Kashmir[note 3]. After delimitation shortly after its formation, the Puducherry legislative assembly has 33 seats, of which 5 are reserved for candidates from scheduled castes and 3 members are nominated by the Government of India. 30 out of 33 Members are elected directly by the people based on universal adult franchise and the remaining three are nominated by the central government. These nominated members enjoy the same powers as elected members of the assembly.
Puducherry Legislative Assembly | |
|---|---|
| 15th Puducherry Assembly | |
 | |
| Type | |
| Type | |
Term limits | 5 years |
| Leadership | |
K. Kailashnathan since 7 August 2024 | |
Deputy Speaker | |
Leader of the House | |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 30 |
 | |
Political groups | Government (21) Other opposition (10)
|
| Elections | |
| First past the post | |
First election | 11 August 1959 |
Last election | 6 April 2021 |
Next election | May 2026 |
| Meeting place | |
 | |
| Chief Secretariat of Puducherry, Puducherry, Puducherry | |
| Website | |
| puddu | |
Geographically, the area under the Puducherry UT consists of three disjointed regions, with Puducherry and Karaikal districts surrounded by districts of Tamil Nadu, Yanam district an enclave of East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh, and Mahé district bordered by districts of Kerala. The four districts were ruled by the French before they were integrated into India in 1962. For ease of administration, during French rule, the area under these four districts was divided into 39 assembly constituencies. After becoming a UT of India, Puducherry was divided into 30 assembly constituencies, which were restructured in 2005 by the Delimitation Commission of India.
History
editAssembly during French rule
editIn 1946, French India (Inde française) became Overseas territory (Territoire d'outre-mer) of France. Then a Representative Assembly (Assemblée représentative) was created. Thus, in 1946, on 25 October, the representative assembly of 44 members has replaced the general council (conseil général).[3] The Representative Assembly had 44 seats until merger of Chandernagore in 1951. Later, it reduced to 39 seats.
Merger and formation of Union Territory
editThe French government transferred the four enclaves to the Indian Union under a de facto treaty on 1 November 1954.[4] Later the territory was merged with India on 16 August 1962.
On 10 May 1963, the Indian Parliament enacted the Government of Union Territories Act, 1963 that came into force on 1 July 1963. This introduced the same pattern of government that prevailed in the rest of the country, but subject to certain limitations.[5] Under Article 239 of the Indian Constitution, the President of India appoints an Administrator LG with such designation as he may specify to head the administration of the territory. The President also appoints the Chief Minister. The President, on the advice of the Chief Minister, appoints the other Ministers. The Union Territories Act, 1963 limits the number of elected members of the assembly to 30 and allows the central government to appoint not more than 3 nominated MLAs. The same act ensures that seats are reserved for Scheduled Castes in the legislative assembly.
The Representative Assembly was converted into the Legislative Assembly of Pondicherry on 1 July 1963 as per Section 54(3) of The Union Territories Act, 1963[5] and its members were deemed to have been elected to the Assembly.[6]: 966 Thus, the First Legislative Assembly was formed without an election. Elections for the assembly have been held since 1964.
Nominated MLAs
editVery few state/union territory legislative assemblies have nominated MLAs and their voting powers are limited with Puducherry being the only exception. In 2021, the Supreme Court of India has clarified two important aspects related to the nominated MLAs.[note 4]. The first one is about their nomination. The court held that as per the 1963 act the Government of India is empowered to nominate the MLAs even without consulting the Government of Puducherry. The second one is about the voting power of the nominated MLAs.[8] The court also held that the nominated MLAs enjoy voting powers at par with elected MLAs, as the 1963 law per se did not differentiate between the nominated MLAs from the elected ones.[9]
Name
editPuducherry has five official names, owing to its linguistic diversity, past French heritage, and the legacy of British India.[10] The legislative assembly is referred to as follows:
Location
editThe current Legislative Assembly is located in the rue Victor Simonel in a colonial-era building that was originally a medical college. The college was relocated to another location and since 1969 the building has been used for the assembly.[11]
List of the assemblies
editList of members of legislative assembly
editParty position
edit| Alliance | Party | No. of MLAs | Leader of the party | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Government NDA Seats: 21 |
All India N.R. Congress | 10 | N. Rangasamy | ||
| Bharatiya Janata Party | 6 | A. Namassivayam | |||
| Independent | 5 | N/A | |||
| Opposition INDIA Seats: 9 |
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam | 6 | R. Siva | ||
| Indian National Congress | 2 | M. Vaithianathan | |||
| Independent | 1 | G. Nehru @ Kuppusamy | |||
See also
edit- Yanam Municipal Council
- Puducherry Municipal Council
- List of chief ministers of Puducherry
- Puducherry (Lok Sabha constituency)
- List of lieutenant governors of Puducherry
- List of Rajya Sabha members from Puducherry
- List of speakers of the Puducherry Legislative Assembly
- List of constituencies of Puducherry Legislative Assembly
- List of leaders of the opposition in the Puducherry Legislative Assembly
Notes
edit- ^ Delhi Assembly existed between 1952 and 1956 as a part C state and re-established in 1993.[1]
- ^ Puducherry Assembly exist since 1962.
- ^ was a state until 2019.[2]
- ^ This judgment sealed the fate of V. Narayanasamy's government during the 14th Puducherry Assembly and he lost the trust vote as the nominated MLAs voted against him. With the resignations of 6 MLAs (five from Congress and one from DMK), from 33 the house strength dwindled to 26. The Narayansamy-led UPA government consisting of Congress (9 with speaker), DMK (2), and an independent (1), had strength 12. The opposition had the strength of 14 MLAs which consisted of AINRC (7), AIADMK (4), and the three nominated members affiliated with BJP. As per the judgment, counting the strength of nominated MLAs, the opposition outnumbered the government in strength and the government fell out subsequently and the president's rule was imposed.[7]
References
edit- ^ The Constitution (Sixty-ninth Amendment) Act, 1991
- ^ "Jammu and Kashmir assembly election in 2021 after delimitation: EC sources". Zee News. 29 August 2019. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
- ^ Weber, Jacques (1988). Les établissements français en Inde au XIXe siècle, 1816–1914 (4). FeniXX. ISBN 978-2-402-11912-2.
- ^ "Treaty establishing De Jure Cession of French Establishments in India". Ministry of External Affairs. Media Center (Government of India). 1956.
- ^ a b "The Government of Union Territories Act, 1963" (PDF). Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
- ^ Malhotra, G. C. (1964). Cabinet Responsibility to Legislature. Metropolitan Book Co. Pvt. Ltd. p. 464. ISBN 978-81-200-0400-9.
- ^ Nair, Rajesh B (22 February 2021). "Puducherry CM resigns; Speaker rules trust vote defeated". The Hindu. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
- ^ Datta, Prabhash K (22 February 2021). "How BJP's nominated MLAs sealed Congress's fate in Puducherry". India Today. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
- ^ Roy, Chakshu (24 February 2021). "Explained: The trust vote in Puducherry". The Indian Express. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
- ^ "Parliamentary Debates: Official Report, Volume 208, Issues 18–19". Council of States Secretariat. 2006. p. 263. Retrieved 19 October 2024.
- ^ News Desk, ed. (27 June 2024). "Built During French Rule, This Medical College Is Now Puducherry Legislative Assembly". News 18. Retrieved 8 October 2024.