PUDUCHERRY: Training his guns at the Narayanasamy-led Congress government in the Union Territory, BJP national president Amit Shah on Monday termed it as the most corrupt government he had ever seen in his life.
Shah, who is here as part of a 110-day nation-wide tour to strengthen the party, attempted to downplay the contributions of Congress governments at the Centre by claiming that the BJP government has done much more for Puducherry in the three years of its rule than the Congress. Shah said that the BJP government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given 613 per cent more grants to Puducherry in the three years of its rule as compared to what Naryanasamy had been able to provide to Puducherry while he was a Union minister in the UPA government at the Centre.
Speaking at a convention in which people from different walks of life participated, Shah, while underlining the 106 major schemes introduced by the Modi government in its three-year rule, said Puducherry too benefited in a big way. Listing the Centre’s contributions for the UT, he pointed out the Smart City project for `1,850 crore, `400 crore UDAY scheme for power infrastructure upgradation, `130 crore for urban development under AMRUT scheme, MUDRA scheme to provide bank loans totalling `939 crore to 2.45 lakh youth to start self-employment ventures, construction of 2,516 toilets with central funds, LPG connection to 805 poor families, construction of 65,000 houses at a cost of 161 crore under the prime minister’s housing scheme, distribution of 6.5 lakh LED bulbs, and the opening of 1.25 lakh bank accounts in Puducherry under Jan Dhan Yojana.
Amit Shah said a “comparative evaluation” of the performance of the previous UPA government and the present NDA government would show that there was “policy paralysis” in the previous government. “Everyone knows how much decline the country had suffered in the economy and other sectors during the previous administration,” he said.
“A comparative evaluation would show that the historic decisions taken by PM Narendra Modi have now elevated the nation to a great level. Even the Opposition cannot say that there is corruption in the present rule,” Shah emphasised.
Union Minister of State for Shipping Pon Radhakrishnan, MP Mahesh Giri, national secretary of BJP H Raja and its local president V Saminathan were among those who addressed the gathering.