Grateful for the chance to serve people of Puducherry: Tamilisai

Former Lt. Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan reflects on her three-year tenure in Puducherry, expressing gratitude for the experience.

Former Lt. Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan said on Tuesday that she would forever cherish the love and affection she received from the people of Puducherry during her three-year tenure at the Raj Nivas.

In a farewell interaction with the media at the Raj Nivas on demitting office---she had resigned from the post of Telangana Governor and the additional charge of Lt. Governor the other day---Ms. Soundararajan said she was grateful for the opportunity to serve the people here.

Ms. Soundararajan, who was given additional charge of Lt. Governor in February, 2021 while serving as Telangana Governor, seemed to have been under the initial impression that the supplementary responsibility was for only for a few months.

“They told me to go for three months. Got an opportunity to serve for three years... these years of serving Puducherry has been a joyful experience”, said Ms. Soundararajan, who was at the helm when the Narayanasamy-led Congress government collapsed on February 22, 2021, after losing a trust motion just ahead of completing its five-year term and to administer oath of office to the first AINRC-BJP-led NDA government in Puducherry a couple of months later.

Ms. Soundararajan said her interactions with children---she had visited an estimated 75 schools--had been particularly heart warming. She counted the introduction of prizes for high scorers, the ‘10 bagless days a year’ initiative and the evening millet snack scheme among her important interventions for children. Most significant was the 10% reservation for NEET-qualified government school students in medical admission from this academic year in the Union Territory.

Being a medical practitioner herself, the importance of such a ground-breaking move to facilitate entry of students from government schools to the medical profession could not be understated, she said.

Ms. Soundararajan’s term has not been without a fair share of controversies, especially over a perception of relegating the elected government in her Constitutional role of Administrator of the Union Territory. On more than one occasion, she was compelled to dismiss reports about differences of opinion with Chief Minister N. Rangasamy, on administrative matters, dismissing these charges as attempts to spread misinformation.