Days after the fall of Congress government in Puducherry, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday charged that the leaders in the Union Territory had failed to cooperate with the Centre in implementing schemes and utilisation of funds.
At a public meeting in Puducherry, Mr Modi said while people had voted for the Congress in 2016 with lots of hopes and aspirations, the Congress leaders here were only trying to please the party high command in New Delhi.
“I came here three years ago. Now I could see more happiness among the people because of two reasons. One due to the development works I inaugurated today morning after my arrival here. The second, the Congress government has been removed,” the Prime Minister said.
Citing a video of a wrong translation by former Chief Minister V. Narayanasamy during Rahul Gandhi’s recent visit, the Mr Modi said instead of telling the truth “he lied to his own leader and the nation.” [Mr Narayansamy had subsequently said that he had indeed visited the region where the woman complained of lack of attention to Mr Gandhi.]
“It is in the culture of Congress party to spread lies,” Mr Modi charged.
Expressing confidence in forming a NDA government in the Union Territory (UT) after the Assembly polls, he said “such a government will be people’s government and the high command will be people. I want to see the UT the BEST (business, education, spiritual, and tourism hub).”
The NDA government will focus on the coastal development and revive the cooperative sector. Revival of the cooperative sector would enhance the economic well-being of women in the region, he added.
Mr Modi charged that the Congress holds “several medals in spreading lies”.
“The [Congress] party follows our colonial master’s policy of divide and rule. Sometimes they pit one region against other region and other times one community against another. They are gold, silver and bronze medallist in spreading lie,” he said.
Referring to Mr. Gandhi’s statements on the need to create separate Ministry for Fisheries, he said in May 2019 itself a Ministry of Fisheries was constituted by the National Democratic Alliance Government. In the last two years, the budgetary allocation for the Ministry had increased by 80 %.
The credit for constituting a separate Ministry for Tribal affairs also goes to the NDA Government under Vajpayee, he added.
The Congress party “leaves no opportunity to call others as anti-democratic,” he said adding the party should look into the mirror to understand the reality. “Panchayat polls were held in Ladakh and recently in Gujarat. Even after the Supreme Court asked the previous Congress government in the UT to hold civic body elections they have not conducted the polls. But the party calls others as anti-democratic,” he said
Nominated legislator and BJP Puducherry president V. Saminathan and former Minister A. Namassivayam were among those addressed the meeting.
