Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday promised that the Union Territory of Puducherry would be accorded statehood if the INDIA bloc forms the government at the Centre after the Lok Sabha election.
Contending that the relentless efforts of the Congress had led to Puducherrys liberation from French rule, Kharge at a rally said the region was declared a Union Territory by the Congress government. He pointed out that the BJP's Lok Sabha election manifesto was silent on the demand for statehood for Puducherry.
The veteran Congress leader who addressed back-to back rallies in Puducherry and Neyveli in neighbouring Tamil Nadu, also harped on the fact the Centre was crippling opposition-run state governments and UTs by using the offices of the governor and lieutenant governor. Elected governments were being suppressed, he said. On a day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi made another visit to Tamil Nadu, Kharge, accused him of destroying federal structures and the Constitution of India.
According to him, the country has faced several assaults on its federal structure in the past decade when the BJP was in power. “The BJP dethroned democratically elected governments by luring legislators. Or it used the governor or LG to pose hurdles for elected chief ministers in opposition-ruled states,” he charged.
Besides, central agencies were used against political opponents. “We are fighting to save democracy and fundamental rights of people. We are fighting against authoritarianism,” he told journalists during a brief interaction in Puducherry and refused to comment on opinion polls favouring BJP and NDA. “We are confident of forming the govt with a comfortable majority,” he said. Candidates for Amethi and Raebareli will be decided later, he added.
