Trying to connect with voters of Puducherry by promising to fulfil the long pending demand of Statehood for the Union Territory (UT) in case of INDIA alliance emerging victorious in the Parliamentary polls, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK president M.K. Stalin accused Puducherry Chief Minister N. Rangasamy of compromising on the Statehood issue and governance rights by aligning with BJP.
Addressing a public meeting in support of Congress candidate in Puducherry Lok Sabha seat, V. Vaithilingam on Sunday, the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister said Mr Rangasamy has surrendered completely to BJP and Central government. “He has become a dummy. He has not spoken on the subject of Statehood in the last three years. He has also surrendered the Lok Sabha seat to junior partner BJP in Puducherry. The UT has not benefitted from the alliance with BJP,” the DMK president said.
The AINRC chief would take up the issue of Statehood only for his convenience, Mr Stalin said adding that the INDIA alliance was committed to elevate the status of Puducherry to a State if came to power at the Centre.
“The DMK and Congress have included the Statehood demand in their respective manifestos. Being a Union Territory, an elected government does not have the power to even run ration shops and construct a Legislative Assembly. The Centre was trying to utilise the position of Lt Governor to run the territory,” he said.
Touching upon issues confronting UT, the DMK chief said if INDIA alliance came to power at Centre, the government would take steps to introduce 25 % reservation for local students in Pondicherry University, more job opportunities for locals in JIPMER, start new railway line connecting Chennai-Puducherry via ECR, re-open ration shops and revive textile and sugar mills.
Raking up the incident involving the rape and murder of a nine-year-old girl child in Puducherry, the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister said the BJP governments was not keen on ensuring safety of women.
Attacking Prime Minister Narendra Modi for harping on religious subjects in his campaign speeches, the DMK president said the legislations affecting the minority communities would be scrapped in the wake of INDIA alliance coming to power at Centre.
“It is highly condemnable that after being Prime Minister for ten years, his speeches are made with religious overtones. Though he claims to be an OBC, the Prime Minister is not speaking on social justice. He is not speaking on the rise in prices of petrol and diesel. He did not reduce prices of petrol and diesel when crude oil price came down in the international market,” the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister said.
Besides Mr Vaithilingam, Opposition leader and DMK convenor R. Siva spoke.
