Other States - Pondicherry   

Address skips key issues: DMK

By Our Staff Reporter

PONDICHERRY, JULY 5. The Opposition leader in the Pondicherry Assembly, R.V. Janakiraman (DMK), has said the Lt. Governor, N.N. Jha, had ignored important issues concerning Pondicherry in his address to the House on the opening day of the budget session.

Mr. Janakiraman said that he wondered whether the Government had given serious thought to important projects such as `free port', `special economic zone,' and to tackle the Cauvery water issue.

He said there was also no word in the address about what steps the Government had taken for securing statehood with special category status for the Union Territory. Why had no scheme had been highlighted in Mr Jha's speech for amelioration of the lot of the Scheduled Castes, he asked.

There was also no mention about holding civic polls in Pondicherry, although the Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, was keen on holding elections to civic bodies.

Mr. Janakiraman hoped the problems would be addressed in the budget the Chief Minister, N. Rangasamy, would present on July 7.

`No new schemes'

The All-India Anna DMK MLA, A. Anbalagan, said the address lacked any new schemes.

Mr. Anbalagan told reporters here that most of the schemes had already been completed and were highlighted in the address. There was no specific direction as to what the Pondicherry Government would do to solve the unemployment problem. The adoption of the uniform sales tax had already hit the economy.

The accent on poverty alleviation showed the Government had not taken specific steps in the last two years to bring relief to poor.

The BJP MLA, A.M. Krishnamoorthy, said it was a shock that no specific measure had been pointed out in the address.

He charged the ruling Congress with having caused mental agony and torture to Mr. Jha by making baseless allegations against him and necessitating his resignation from the post.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Other States

News: Front Page | National | Tamil Nadu | Andhra Pradesh | Karnataka | Kerala | New Delhi | Other States | International | Opinion | Business | Sport | Miscellaneous |
Advts: Classifieds | Employment | Updates: Breaking News |

Stories in this Section

• Jha envisages eradication of poverty by 2007
• Infant deaths rumour sparks panic
• CD dealer fatally assaulted
• Tributes to Malkani
• CPI (M) activists held
• Address skips key issues: DMK

Copyright © 2004, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu