Puducherry CM functioning like a puppet without asserting himself, says T.N. CM
The Hindu
T.N. CM M.K. Stalin, speaking at a wedding, said that he felt sorry for the Union Territory as the Lt Governor was calling the shots, while the government elected by the people was not implementing schemes; he said the DMK would emerge as a strong force in the forthcoming polls
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK president M.K. Stalin on Monday expressed serious concerns over the Union Territory of Puducherry making no progress with its present government, the AINRC-BJP alliance.
Speaking at the wedding of a party functionary at Pattanur near here, he said that although there is a government elected by the people in Puducherry, it is not evolving and implementing schemes to serve the people.
Puducherry Chief Minister N. Rangasamy may be tall physically but he is bending before the Lt. Governor and does not assert himself which is a shame to the Union Territory, Mr. Stalin said.
“Puducherry Chief Minister N. Rangasamy is a good man but he must also be efficient as merely being good will not suffice. He is functioning like a puppet without asserting himself. Such an administration is a shame to the Union Territory. Mr. Rangasamy should function like an efficient Chief Minister,” he said.
Mr. Stalin said he felt sorry that the Lt. Governor in Puducherry was calling [all] the shots and said it was indeed a shame for the elected government in the Union Territory.
“We never treated Puducherry separately and the DMK had already established governments in the past [here], either in alliance with the Congress or on its own. In the forthcoming Lok Sabha and Assembly elections, the DMK will emerge as a strong force in the UT and form the government. Puducherry too should have a ‘Dravidian model’ government as seen in neighbouring Tamil Nadu. It is not only the wish of the people and party MLAs but also my wish that Puducherry should have a Dravidian model government,” the Chief Minister said and appealed to the people to not give space to communally-oriented political parties to come to power in the UT.
Mr. Stalin said that the DMK always had a soft corner for Puducherry right from the days of the late DMK leader M. Karunanidhi. Puducherry had always stayed close to Mr. Karunanidhi’s heart. He recalled that the late leader was assaulted by a group while staging a play in Puducherry. The group assaulted Mr. Karunanidhi and threw him into a drainage canal. People believed that Mr. Karunanidhi was dead. On learning about the incident, Periyar E.V. Ramasamy rushed to Puducherry and took Mr. Karunanidhi along with him to Erode. Puducherry paved the way for Mr. Karunanidhi to come into close contact with Periyar.