Puducherry CM accuses Centre of grabbing powers of elected government in Union territory

PUDUCHERRY: Accusing the BJP government at the Centre of encroaching on the powers of the elected government in Puducherry (both administrative and financial) in a phased manner and doing away with its separate identity, Chief Minister V Narayanasamy on Friday said that was the reason behind his statement that efforts are on by the Centre to merge the Union territory with neighbouring states.

Addressing a press conference on Friday, the Chief Minister stated that the BJP government was acting through the Lt Governor Kiran Bedi by accepting her recommendations on the mode of implementation of welfare schemes instead of those proposed by the elected government.

When the elected  government wanted to provide free rice to the poor under a scheme, the Centre accepted the decision of the Lt Governor for Direct Benefit transfer (DBT). Even for the free clothing provided to the poor under a scheme for Deepavali, the Centre has accepted Bedi’s decision for DBT, on the basis of her letter to the Ministry of Home Affairs, he said.

Narayanasamy said as per the Supreme Court judgment and law, the state government has powers on lands. But the Centre is intervening and not giving permission to sell AFT lands to pay compensation to the workers. Hindi language and NEET are being imposed here and they also want a three-language policy, he added.

Even financial powers have been encroached, with the Centre not providing Puducherry with its due share of funds nor finance for management of the COVID-19 situation, he said, adding that the last budget got delayed by four months as the Centre had delayed granting approval.

Puducherry has not been included in the fifteenth central finance commission yet for devolution of funds. This clearly exposes that the Centre is encroaching upon the administrative and financial powers and indicates its intentions to merge the UT with neighbouring states, said Narayanasamy.

He said the Puducherry unit of the BJP wants him to be arrested for his statement on the intended merger and is taking out rallies on charges of ‘anti-national’ activities, but neither he nor his cabinet colleagues were frightened. "I am ready to face any action by the Centre," he said. Narayanaswamy said, “Let them arrest me. I am ready to go to prison and have already seen prisons."

He charged that the opposition parties in the Union territory are “sleeping” when its rights are being grabbed by the Centre. They are remaining mere spectators when the Centre and the LG are giving trouble to the state government, he said, adding that they are not concerned with the welfare of the people here.

The state unit of the BJP should have a self-introspection on what it did for the development of Puducherry, he said, adding that he is ready for any sacrifice for the people of the Union territory.