AIADMK Calls for Probe into Uniforms Case
PUDUCHERRY: AIADMK Legislator A Anbazhagan on Friday demanded that Chief Minister N Rangaswamy participate in the meeting of Chief Ministers convened by the Prime Minister on December 7 and seek statehood for Puducherry.
Addressing a press conference on Friday, Anbazhagan said that if Rangasamy was serious in securing statehood then he should take it up with the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, along with the waiver of loan amounting to several crores. If the Chief Minister failed to do so, it would be presumed that he was not interested in getting statehood, he added.
Anbazhagan also charged the government with irregularities in providing free uniforms to the students of government schools in the Union Territory at a cost of `9 crore in the current year and demanded an impartial inquiry. He said the sub-standard uniforms, comprising two sets, were provided to the students.
He said the Anglo French Textile (AFT) Mills, which supplied uniforms allegedly procured the material from other mills and then provided the uniforms at a cost of `648 per set for girls and ` 566 per set for boys. He questioned the government on giving the task to AFT, when the mill was not operational. If clothing material was to be purchased from outside, he demanded the reasons for not floating a tender.
He alleged irregularities in other public sector undertakings (PSUs) also in procurement of the PDS rice and said that ruling partymen, heading the PSUs, were using it to loot public funds.
Further, Anbazhagan alleged partiality in distribution of welfare schemes to pregnant and lactating women in UT. While in Puducherry ``1,200 was being given to lactating mother and `500 to pregnant women, `6,000 was being provided to each lactating and pregnant women under the Indira Gandhi Matritva Sahoyog Yojana for the past three years.