Minister for Economics and Statistics A. Namassivayam on Thursday criticised Bharatiya Janata Party president Amit Shah for his comment on the functioning of the Congress government in Puducherry.
Stating that the BJP national leader had a hidden agenda in levelling these baseless allegations of corruption against the Congress government, Mr. Namassivayam condemned his comments and questioned why Mr. Shah preferred to remain silent when corruption charges were framed against Bangaru Laxman or Karnataka mining baron and BJP leader G. Janardhan Reddy. “People of Puducherry know his intentions and also know how the government is functioning in Puducherry,” he said.
Calling upon the Lieutenant Governor, Kiran Bedi, to change her style of functioning, the Minister questioned the apprehension expressed by the Lieutenant Governor on the smart city project and said that it exposed her intention to derail the project.
Smart City
Referring to Ms. Bedi’s reported statements about the proper requisition of funds for the Smart City project, AIADMK legislature party leader A. Anbalagan said this showed that the Lieutenant Governor was trying to derail the smart city project. It had been the dream of all sections of people that Puducherry was selected under the project to ensure integrated development. But Ms. Bedi’s current efforts to derail the project should be taken note of. The Centre should immediately intervene and recall her to ensure smooth development of Puducherry.
Mr. Namassivayam said the Chief Minister and other ministers had been visiting Delhi to get the approval of the Centre for sanction of funds for smart city project and other projects, including pedestrian subway near Jipmer, flyovers in Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi junctions. “We are waiting for the Centre’s approval to sanction funds from French Development Agency,” he said.
He added that the government was yet to take any decision on the appointment of nominated MLAs. “We will announce it in an appropriate time,” he said.The Minister said that they met Congress leader Mukul Wasnik and discussed about party activities in Delhi.
About the surprise check by the CBI on Centac office, he said the Chief Minister had mentioned that they were ready to face any investigation.
