PUDUCHERRY: The Puducherry Assembly on Wednesday adopted an unanimous resolution urging the Centre to grant statehood to the Union Territory of Puducherry (UTP).
The private member resolution, tabled by Leader of Opposition R. Siva (DMK), AMH Nazeem (DMK), R. Senthil Kumar (DMK), and G. Nehru alias Kuppasamy, demanding statehood, was converted into a government resolution at the request of Chief Minister N. Rangasamy, following which it was passed in the Assembly.
Moving the resolution, the Chief Minister stated that statehood is the desire of all members of the Assembly across party lines, and the necessity for granting statehood has been expressed by the members who tabled the resolution. There was no doubt about the need for statehood, and the Centre should consider it. He assured the Assembly that he would take up the statehood issue with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. He also mentioned that an appeal would be made to MPs from different states to support Puducherry’s demand for statehood.
Earlier, while moving the resolution, Siva said that the demand for granting statehood to the UTP has been continuously emphasized for more than 40 years, since 1972, by successive governments and has been brought to the attention of the Central Government. States like Goa and Chandigarh, which were once Union Territories, have attained statehood and achieved significant development. However, previous Congress and BJP governments at the Centre have ignored this demand. If Puducherry gains statehood, it will be able to achieve the development expected by its people. Recently, the Centre informed that the status quo would continue without setting up any committee to consider the decision.
DMK MLA AMH Nazeem criticized the gradual reduction of powers of the elected government in Puducherry. He called for an amendment to the "Rules of Business" of the Union Territories Act to empower the elected government and enhance its financial autonomy until statehood is achieved.
Another DMK legislator, R. Senthil Kumar, demanded that the central government fully cover the revenue deficit as per the French India Treaty during Puducherry’s merger with the Indian Union, grant full powers to the Puducherry government, and establish a committee to pursue statehood. Based on the Treaty, the central government had provided a revenue gap grant constituting 48-50% of Puducherry's budget from 1954 to 1987. This support has since dwindled, with the central government's financial contribution now reduced to just 26% of the budget, forcing Puducherry to rely on loans for administrative expenses.
Speaker R. Selvam pointed out that Puducherry's financial difficulties began with the opening of a separate public account for the Union Territory in 2007. He alleged that then Finance Minister P. Chidambaram and Union Minister of State V. Narayanasamy had pressured Chief Minister Rangasamy to open the separate public account, threatening to block central assistance if it was not done.
He noted that this was the 15th resolution adopted by the Puducherry Assembly demanding statehood and the second such resolution since the All India N.R. Congress-BJP alliance came to power in Puducherry in 2021. The resolution will now be forwarded to the central government for consideration.