Chief Minister N. Rangasamy on Friday said the administrative system of the Union Territory has to change for the speedy delivery of public services.
While responding to an audio clip that went viral on social media where he hints that even though he was Chief Minister, he was not the only one calling the shots in the Union Territory, Mr. Rangasamy said, "The present system has to change. For that, Statehood is the only answer and I am firm on changing the administrative character of the Union Territory. I have already taken up the issue with the Centre and our government will continue to press for Statehood.
In the leaked audio clip, Mr. Rangasamy is heard telling the caller from Karaikal that he was not a “king and there are people above and below him.”
In a chat with The Hindu, the Chief Minister said it was a casual conversation with a person who had called him from Karaikal to ascertain the status of his announcement of ₹5000 as rain relief.
“There is nothing new in my conversation that the public does not already know about. Decision making and implementation of programmes or schemes get delayed due to the existing administrative set up,” he said.
“The way forward is only Statehood. Even during the recent meeting chaired by the Union Home Minister at Tirupati, I raised the issue. We will have to get Statehood to address all our problems. Even members of the public want the status of the Union Territory to be altered as a State. There cannot be and will not be any change in our party’s demand for Statehood,” he said.
In the audio, the Chief Minister was heard telling the caller, “I am not a king, there are ministers, there are people above me and below me. They will have to decide. This is Pondicherry and it will be like this only.”
This is not the first time that the Chief Minister is venting his unhappiness over the state of affairs after he assumed office with the support of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Earlier this month, Mr. Rangasamy, while addressing the valedictory of stakeholders meeting organised by the Tourism Department, said the Union Territory has no power as it comes under the control of Union Home Ministry.
The Chief Minister had stated that even though the government has the intention to implement various schemes, the administration does not have the resource and power.
Meanwhile, the principal Opposition party, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), has asked the Chief Minister to name the people who have blocked implementation of ₹5000 as rain relief.
Opposition leader R. Siva on Friday said the taped conversation revealed that someone was blocking implementation of his announcements.
Mr. Rangasamy should reveal the identity of the person, the DMK leader demanded in a statement.
