Congress leaders on Sunday said the claims made by the BJP manifesto ring hollow as the Centre had done next to nothing in the close to five years of the Congress term in Puducherry.
AICC leader Veerappa Moily told a press conference that there should be at least a semblance of performance while advancing claims while in fact the BJP’s contribution to the development of the Union Territory was negative, considering the constant assault on principles of federalism and the impediments that the Centre created for implementing schemes through then Lt. Governor Kiran Bedi.
Central funds
Mr. Moily and former Chief Minister V. Narayanasamy said Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, who had released the BJP manifesto the other day, owed an explanation to the people on why Central funds were withheld.
Mr. Narayanasamy also distributed newspaper reports about the five times he had personally met Ms. Sitharaman in Delhi to seek funds for the Union Territory.
Stating that a manifesto must be based on facts and evidence, Mr. Moily said the BJP had only given Puducherry the worst treatment and now they were suddenly promising the best.
Accusing the BJP of toppling elected governments through high-handedness and engineered defections, Mr. Moily said the Congress government led by Mr. Narayanasamy had provided stable governance for almost its full term until it was brought down and had also won several awards for governance in spite of the obstacles put before it.
