Puducherry CM skips Southern Zonal Council meeting, attends official events in Union Territory
Puducherry Chief Minister N. Rangasamy skipped the 31st Southern Zonal Council meeting chaired by Union Home Minister Amit Shah. He instead attended local official events, continuing a six-year trend of avoiding meetings convened by the Union government.
Why it matters
The absence highlights ongoing political tensions and administrative disconnect between the Union Territory leadership and the central government.
Puducherry Chief Minister and All India N.R. Congress founder N. Rangasamy skipped the 31 st meeting of the Southern Zonal Council chaired by Union Home Minister Amit Shah at Mamallapuram in Tamil Nadu on Thursday (August 20, 2026).
Administrative sources told The Hindu that both the Lieutenant Governor and Chief Minister of the Union Territory are invited whenever the Inter-State Council Secretariat, under the Ministry of Home Affairs, holds its zonal meeting.
For the 31 st meeting too, the Inter-State Council invited Lt. Governor K. Kailashnathan, Mr. Rangasamy, and Chief Secretary Sharat Chauhan. The Chief Minister, however, skipped the meeting held at Tamil Nadu’s coastal town of Mamallapuram, which is around 100 km from Puducherry.
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