L-G should ask Centre to include Puducherry in the Finance Commission, says Ramadass

Former Parliamentarian takes objection to Lt. Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan’s statement

Taking objection to Lt. Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan’s statement that the Puducherry government has approached the Centre seeking to provide greater financial assistance by considering the Union Territory as one without an Assembly like Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Chandigarh, former Member of Parliament M. Ramadass said the idea should be “shunned forthwith as real citizens of Puducherry are gearing for Statehood and the very talk of the Union Territory without Assembly will only infuriate them.”

Responding to the observations the Lt. Governor made in an interview to The Hindu published last week, Mr. Ramadass said in a statement that the government should explain whether the idea was proposed to the Centre after a discussion in the Cabinet. Instead of proposing such “impractical ideas,” the Lt. Governor should prevail upon the Centre to treat Puducherry with Assembly as a State and recommend its inclusion in the Finance Commission by amending Article 280 of the Constitution.

Puducherry is considered “as a State for opening Public Account” and the inclusion in the GST Council. Likewise, Puducherry should be included in the Finance Commission as well. In fact, during the discussion in the XI Finance Commission, some of the members have recommended the inclusion of Puducherry in the purview of Finance Commission, the economist turned politician said.

“If the Centre had acted on it, Puducherry would not be facing a financial crunch today. If the Lt. Governor really wants to help Puducherry and if the Centre and the Prime Minister are keen in developing Puducherry, they should all place Puducherry in the fold of XV Finance Commission. This step would have enabled Puducherry to secure ₹3,518 crore as Central financial assistance against the present year’s allocation of ₹1,729 crore,” he said.. The Centre may grant the same Finance Commission transfer to Puducherry as is given to Goa every year. Alternatively, the Union Finance Minister can work out a special financial package as contemplated for Special Union Territory status to Puducherry in the BJP manifesto. “Under any circumstance no meddling with the Assembly system can be done even for namesake,” Mr. Ramadass said.

On Dr. Soundararajan’s statement that the Prime Minister was keen on the overall development of the Union Territory, the former Parliamentarian said there was no concrete action on the part of the Centre to show that they are concerned about the Union Territory’s growth.

“Perhaps the intention of the L-G may be to enhance the image of the PM and the Central government among the people of Puducherry. Unfortunately, however, the reality is contrary to her claim. The Central Budget (2022-23) is an eye opener to the kind of Central focus on Puducherry. Maintaining status quo, the Budget offers the same assistance of ₹1,729 crore to Puducherry as last year. This utter neglect of Puducherry is something unprecedented in the fiscal history of Puducherry,” he said.

The Prime Minister has failed to mention about the long pending demand for Statehood. Also, the Prime Minister was vocal in his criticism against the former Congress regime in the Union Territory for not holding the local bodies polls, Mr Ramadass said.