Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanasamy Tuesday expressed gratitude to Congress chief Rahul Gandhi for promising in the party's manifesto that it would procure full statehood for the Union Territory, if elected to power after the Lok Sabha polls.
The manifesto was released in Delhi today by AICC.
Addressing reporters at the party office here, Narayanasamy said, "the specific announcement in the manifesto that the Congress would procure statehood for Puducherry now a Union Territory shows that the party and its leader have concern for the welfare of the people here."
He said, "the demand for statehood had been raised for years together as the present constitutional status of Union Territory had been standing in the way of getting sufficient grants from the Centre and most of the time the plea had fallen on deaf ears."
Noting that 70 percent of the budgetary requirements of Puducherry were met through Central grants in the past, the senior Congress leader claimed that now the grant has been reduced to26 percent.
Puducherry has not been included in the Central Finance Commission as it is a Union Territory, he pointed out.
Once Puducherry is accorded statehood there would be several fiscal benefits on par with full fledged states.
The elected governments here had been facing hiccups because of "intervention and negative stand" on part of the Lt Governors towards decisions taken by the government.
"This unenviable predicament would become a thing of the past once Puducherry becomes a state," he contended and thanked the AICC leader for accommodating the promise of statehood for Puducherry.
Repeated representations to the NDA government for grant of statehood had proved futile, he alleged.
Narayanasamy also said that other important promises relating to promoting welfare of farmers and implementation of guaranteed minimum income for the poor families are most welcome and would ameliorate the poor and other sections let down by the NDA government during last five years.
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