Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday alleged that the Puducherry government was “imposed from Delhi” and does not represent the will of the people there. He also accused the BJP of failing to grant full statehood and promoting corruption in the Union Territory.
The Election Commission has announced that voting in Puducherry will be held on April 9 and counting of votes will take place on May 4. The current tenure of the 30-member assembly of the Union Territory ends on June 15.
Addressing an election rally in Lawspet, the Congress leader said, “It is very clear that the government in Puducherry is not the opinion of the people of Puducherry, but is imposed from Delhi. Full statehood has always been an issue, which the BJP promised but did not fulfill. The BJP wants Puducherry to remain under the ownership of Mr Adani. Strategically important Karaikal has already been sold to him.”
He said, “Everyone knows that 30 percent commission is taken on all contracts. The government has become a commission agent. The liquor license regime is going on, no matter how much the public complains, nothing happens. Not only do they steal from the public, they also steal from God; law and order is deteriorating.”
He also announced several welfare measures for Puducherry, including a monthly assistance of Rs 2,000 for unemployed youth, 30,000 new jobs, free bus travel for women, increase in age limit for government jobs and health insurance coverage of Rs 20 lakh for each family.
Rahul Gandhi said, “What is the Congress coalition government going to do for Puducherry? We will give assistance of Rs 2000 per month to unemployed youth, create 30,000 new jobs in public and private sectors, and women will travel free in Puducherry buses.”
“We are going to ease the age limit for entry into government jobs to 40 years. Health insurance of Rs 20 lakh will be available to every family in Puducherry,” he said.
In the 2021 Puducherry Assembly elections, AINRC emerged as the largest party with 10 seats, followed by DMK with six seats, while BJP and Congress won six seats each. The voting percentage was 84.8.
In the 2016 elections, Congress won a majority with 15 seats, while AINRC won eight seats, AIADMK won four seats and DMK won two seats. The voting percentage was 83.6.