Former Chief Minister and AINRC founder-president N. Rangasamy on Sunday pitched for unity in the ranks as he called upon functionaries and cadres to work towards ousting the Congress and recapturing power in the Union Territory.
Addressing the 11th founding day anniversary of the AINRC, which he formed after breaking away from the Congress, Mr. Rangasamy said the AINRC would be the choice of the people who were looking for regime change after five years of disillusionment with the Congress-DMK government.
Noting the significance of this party anniversary as it coincided with the Assembly elections, Mr. Rangasamy said, “Some forces within and from outside would look to foment discord. But, we must firmly take a vow to unite and forget all differences and face the elections to remove this dismal government”.
Pitching for Statehood for Puducherry, he stated that this was one of the founding goals of the AINRC. “All political parties should close ranks and unite behind the cause for Statehood.” He also called for boycotting Assembly elections till the Centre conceded to the demand for Statehood.
Mr. Rangasamy, who reserved a major part of his speech to attack the Congress, said the performance of the government had been dismal. “The government has neither brought in any new scheme nor carried forward the welfare measures introduced when the AINRC was in power,” he said.
The youth were also let down as there was no job growth. “The government was not able to attract an industrial venture while some existing ones have exited Puducherry,” he said.
“Instead of focusing on welfare of the people, the members of this dispensation were more intent on staging agitations and protest fasts blaming the Lt. Governor for not being able to deliver programmes to the people,” Mr. Rangasamy said.
The AINRC, which was formed and brought to power (in 2011) with the support of the people of Puducherry. “The people have faith that we will work for their welfare,” he said.
Mr. Rangasamy also paid tribute to AINRC leader N.R. Balan, who died of COVID-19 last year and hailed his contributions to the growth of the party.
