PUDUCHERRY: Rajya Sabha member and former minister C Ve Shanmugam has charged CM N Rangasamy of hoodwinking Puducherry people on the statehood issue. The MP was speaking at a protest organised by Puducherry AIADMK near the Legislative Assembly complex on Saturday.
Stating that Rangasamy had come to power promising statehood for the union territory, Shanmugam pointed out AINRC remains in alliance with BJP despite the centre denying statehood for Puducherry.
“Not just that, he is also actively supporting BJP in the upcoming elections. He is cheating the people of Puducherry,” Shanmugam added. “It is a pity that an elected government has to be dependent on the central government’s concurrence. Even after the CM recommended the sacking of a minister, he had to wait two months for the centre’s approval,” said Shanmugam. Puducherry cannot develop unless and until it becomes a state, the MP asserted.
Shanmugam went on to criticise the BJP for allegedly failing to launch any significant development programmes in the union territory over the past decade. He accused the party of centralising political power, imposing a one religion-one language identity and privatising public sector undertakings to favour specific business interests.
The MP also hit out at the Congress and DMK for the current state of affairs in Puducherry. Shanmugam blamed former CM Narayanasamy, who had held crucial portfolios, for not taking necessary steps to secure statehood for the union territory. He noted that Narayanasamy could have also brought Puducherry under the ambit of recommendations of the Central Finance Commission.
Puducherry AIADMK secretary A Anbalagan said the central government has not even bothered to appoint a separate L-G for the past three years, adding that the Telangana governor has been acting as the L-G in-charge till date.