more-in Breaking his silence on his political moves, former Member of Parliament P. Kannan has decided to float a new political party. “We have started the registration process. The name of the party will be announced after Election Commission completes the registration process,” he said at a press conference here on Wednesday. Kannan, a veteran politician in the Union Territory, said his party would take a call on contesting the next Lok Sabha polls. “Our party may contest. I myself can be the candidate,” he said. The former Member of Parliament said he was compelled to break his silence as the situation had demanded it. The present government had failed to fulfil its electoral promises, including jobs. The administrative system had collapsed, he said. The government employees had become a beating stick for everyone. They were being shamed in public, he said. Fuel prices He said the fuel price had gone up exponentially. The common man was finding it difficult to bear the rise in the price of essential commodities, he said. Mr. Kannan urged the Centre to reduce the price of petrol and said the ruling Congress should slash tax on petroleum products like other State governments. On the power struggle between Lieutenant Governor Kiran Bedi and the Congress, he said the relationship was “mysterious.” “One day they criticise and the next day they show bonhomie in public. Ministers criticise [the L-G] and then go to Raj Nivas along with their family members,” he said. It was not appropriate for the ruling party members to openly criticise the Lt. Governor. The Lt. Governor also should respect the elected government, Mr Kannan said. Mr. Kannan, who started his political career in the Congress, quit the party in 1996 to join the Tamil Maanila Congress headed by G.K. Moopanar. He led the party in the Assembly elections and won six seats. He went on to become the Home Minister in the TMC-DMK coalition government. After a brief stint in TMC, he floated Puducherry Makkal Congress before the 2001 Assembly elections. His party won four seats in the Assembly polls. PMC became part of the government after merging his regional outfit with the Congress. Following serious differences of opinion with local leadership, he quit his parent party and floated the Puducherry Munnetra Congress (PMC) in 2006. The party won three seats in the Assembly elections held in 2006. He again returned to the Congress in the 2009 Lok Sabha polls and campaigned for Chief Minister V. Narayanasamy, who had made his first electoral debut then. After the elections, he merged PMC with the Congress. He was rewarded with a Rajya Sabha seat. Although he was made a Rajya Sabha member, Mr. Kannan maintained a low-key profile in the party. After his term ended, he quit the Congress and joined the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam. He had contested the last Assembly elections unsuccessfully.

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