PUDUCHERRY: Senior Congress leader Mukul Wasnik Tuesday charged the NDA government at the Centre with trying to "strangulate" the democratically elected government in Puducherry.
Addressing a meeting to celebrate the 75th birth anniversary of late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi Tuesday here, Wasnik said the Centre was "creating problems" for the territorial government.
"But, Chief Minister V Narayanasamy and his cabinet colleagues would fight out the challenge posed by the Centre and they would all be successful in their efforts to protect democracy.
"The All India Congress Committee General Secretary recalled that late leader Rajiv Gandhi had launched several missions to promote technology, literacy, empowerment of women and also country's economic growth.
Hitting out at the central government for withdrawing the special status granted to Jammu and Kashmir, Wasnik said "Jammu and Kashmir had a state government. But now it had been reduced to a status of a Union Territory and two Union Territories have been carved out of Jammu and Kashmir.
"This is for the first time a state had been reduced to a Union Territory. This is the style of functioning of the central government," he said.
The Congress leader called upon the party cadre to take a pledge on the occasion to ensure that the mission of Rajiv Gandhi to make India a strong democratic country was achieved.
"We will not compromise whenever democracy is attacked. It is our bold and clear determination," he added.
In his address, Chief Minister V Narayanasamy said the BJP-led government at the Centre was adopting "injurious measures" as could be seen in the sharp decline in the automobile sector, agricultural sector and economic growth.
Claiming that the Puducherry government was facing several obstacles, he said they were being overcome fast.
Secretary of the AICC Sanjay Dutt, PCC President and PWD Minister A Namassivayam, Welfare Minister M Kandasamy and Government whip R K R Anandaraman were among those who spoke.
Earlier Congress leaders Mukul Wasnik, Sanjay Dutt, Chief Minister Narayanasamy, Speaker V P Sivakolundhu, Ministers and legislators were among those who paid floral tributes at the statue of Rajiv Gandhi.