Chief Minister shedding crocodile tears on Statehood issue: Congress

No concrete steps taken to protect the rights of Union Territory even after being an alliance partner of the ruling dispensation at the Centre. If the Chief Minister is serious about the Statehood issue, he should come out of the alliance and protest, says Narayanasamy

The Congress party has accused Chief Minister N. Rangasamy of shedding crocodile tears over the Statehood issue without taking concrete steps to protect the rights of Union Territory even after being an alliance partner of the ruling dispensation at the Centre.

Addressing a press conference here on Saturday, former Chief Minister V. Narayanasamy said the Chief Minister had extended unconditional support to BJP led-National Democratic Alliance when Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister of the country for the first time in 2014.

Mr. Rangasamy was the Chief Minister of the Union Territory till 2016. He did not leverage of his party’s extension of support to the Centre to obtain Statehood for two years. Again, he formed an alliance with Bharatiya Janata Party for the 2021 Assembly elections knowing very well the stand of the Central government against providing Statehood for the Union Territory, the senior Congress leader said.

“He met the Prime Minister and Home Minister once after the alliance formed the government in the Union Territory. Other than that, he has not taken any other step to obtain Statehood. He has now started shedding tears about his inability to get support of the officials and the Centre to implement schemes only for public perception. If he is serious about the issue, the Chief Minister should come out of the alliance and protest. I am very sure he will not do it because he has not got the courage to fight,” the former Chief Minister said.

Reminding the Chief Minister of the silence he maintained when the Congress government was fighting with the then Lieutenant Governor Kiran Bedi to protect the rights of the elected government, Mr. Narayanasamy said the Chief Minister’s party did not even depute a representative for the all-party meetings which the Congress convened on the Statehood issue.

“When we were in the government, we fought against the then Lt. Governor and the Centre to protect the rights of the Union Territory. Mr. Rangasamy was enjoying the turf war. He even abstained from a delegation which met Prime Minister and Home Minister urging them to grant Statehood for Puducherry. His party also abstained from a protest held in Delhi demanding Statehood,” Mr. Narayanasamy said.

Asked whether the Congress would provide support to the Chief Minister if he comes out of the National Democratic Alliance, Mr. Narayanasamy said, “let him first pull out his party from the alliance and then we will decide. I am sure he will not,” he added.