Former Puducherry Chief Minister and Congress leader V. Narayanasamy on Saturday (September 20, 2025) criticised Lt. Governor K. Kailashnathan for participating in the birthday celebrations of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, organised by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Puducherry.

Addressing a press conference, the Congress leader said the conduct of the Lt. Governor gave the impression that he was slowly indulging in political activism. Citing the participation of the Lt. Governor in events organised by the BJP on September 17 to mark the birthday of Mr. Modi, the former Chief Minister said it was "inappropriate" of him to attend programmes organised by the party.

"The Lt. Governor should clarify in what capacity he had attended the birthday celebrations of Mr. Modi. There was nothing wrong with his participation in government programmes related to the birthday celebrations of the Prime Minister. But it was not proper for him to attend BJP-sponsored programmes as he holds a constitutional position. The Congress will take up this issue before the public and may even approach the court," he said.

He also flayed former Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer Sathyamoorthy for the way he organised the birthday celebrations of the Prime Minister. Mr. Sathyamoorthy had held key positions in the Rural Development Department and he was in charge of the MNREGA scheme. He organised the birthday celebrations by mobilising people who were enrolled under the job guarantee programme, Mr. Narayanasamy alleged.

"The IFS officer used the contacts he had developed while in service to mobilise people for Mr. Modi's birthday event. The function was attended by the Lt. Governor also. The Congress party condemns the way the event was organised and also the participation of the Lt. Governor," he said.

The Congress leader also blamed the Centre and the AINRC-BJP government for the rising debt burden of Puducherry. The former Chief Minister said the total debt of the Union Territory was only around ₹9,100 crore when he left office in 2021. As per the latest CAG report, the total debt of the UT has gone up to ₹13,084 crore. The debt burden will increase again with the government planning to take a ₹4,700-crore loan.

"The Centre must also be blamed because it refused the grant of ₹2,000 crore sought by the Chief Minister for infrastructure projects in Puducherry," he alleged.

Congress leader flays Puducherry L-G for participating in PM Modi's birthday celebration organised by BJP