PUDUCHERRY: Puducherry celebrated its 67th Liberation day with Chief Minister N Rangasamy unfurling the national tricolour at the Gandhi thidal on Monday. He also inspected a guard of honour presented by the Puducherry Armed police and addressed the gathering. He took the salute by different contingents of Police, IRBn, NCC and Home Guards who marched past during the event.
Cultural programmes were presented on the occasion as the Covid-19 cases have come down considerably in the UT. A photo exhibition of Puducherry's History was inaugurated by Chief minister at the Handicraft Exhibition Hall at Gandhi Thidal on the occasion.
Speaker R Selvam, Home Minister A Namassivayam, Civil Supplies Minister Sai Saravana Kumar, Deputy Speaker P Rajavelu, Leader of Opposition R Siva , MLAs and officials participated in the function
The national flag was also unfurled in Karaikal by Transport Minister Chandira Priyanka, at Yanam by PWD Minister K Lakshminarayanan and at Mahe by Agriculture Minister C Jayakumar to mark the occasion .
The day marks the "de facto" merger day of Puducherry and its outlying regions of Karaikal, Mahe and Yanam with the Indian Union, through a Treaty of Cession signed between the then French and Indian governments on Nov 1, 1954 following the referendum held at the border village of Kizhoor on October 18, 1954.
The de facto merger was effected with the transfer of power from the French to the Indian government. This was ratified in the parliaments of both the nations following which “de jure” (actual) transfer of power took place on August 16, 1962, following which Puducherry became a an Union Territory in Indian Union. August 16 is being celebrated as Puducherry Independence day. However with demand for celebration of liberation day on Nov 1, Chief minister N Rangasamy during his earlier tenure declared November 1 as the Liberation Day in 2014 and started commemorating the day.
However there has been the demand for granting statehood to Puducherry. Several resolutions have been adopted in the Assembly on various occasions and sent to the Centre for grant of statehood, but nothing has materialized so far .