Congress leader V. Narayanasamy has urged Puducherry Chief Minister N. Rangasamy to emulate the stand taken by his counterpart in Tamil Nadu, C. Joseph Vijay, regarding the closure of several liquor outlets in the State and the issue of corruption.

“Mr. Rangasamy is known to be close to Mr. Vijay and recently, Tamil Nadu Minister N. Anand had met him at his residence. Just as his counterpart had given a promise during his swearing-in not to tolerate corruption, Mr. Rangasamy should take a vow not to allow corruption under the watch of his Cabinet. We will all appreciate a public proclamation from him to remove corruption from the Union Territory,” Mr. Narayanasamy said at a press conference on Monday (June 15, 2026). 

He contended that action was being initiated in Tamil Nadu against officers involved in corruption. Such administrative steps should be taken in Puducherry. Recently, a scam had surfaced in the Excise Department on the pricing of liquor by a company, he said, adding that there had been no further departmental proceedings regarding the matter.

Mr. Rangasamy should take inspiration from Mr. Vijay on the closure of TASMAC liquor outlets. Around 700 outlets functioning near schools, colleges, religious places, and bus stands were closed after Mr. Vijay assumed office. In the last five years, resto bars and other liquor outlets have come up in large numbers in the UT, the Congress leader said. 

“The functioning of resto bars in the town have resulted in several law-and-order issues. There has been complaints from residents on the functioning of liquor outlets in their locality. Mr. Rangasamy should order the closure of all types of liquor outlets functioning in residential areas, as well as near educational institutions and religious places,” he said.

Delay in Ministy formation

Criticising Mr. Rangasamy over the delay in forming a complete Ministry in the UT, the Congress leader said the AINRC founder was also “in the habit of delaying portfolio allocation.”

“More than a month has passed since Mr. Rangasamy assumed office. There is no full Ministry yet. We are hearing that three more Ministers are going to be sworn in on June 17. During his previous tenure, one Minister was allocated a portfolio 138 days after assuming office, while another completed his tenure without being assigned any portfolio. He should not repeat this mistake. The Ministers should be allocated portfolios immediately. There has been a complete absence of governance over the last month because of the delay in the formation of the Ministry,” he said.