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Honour for Puducherry: Rangasamy

V. Narayanasamy

PUDUCHERRY: “We are extremely happy. This is a great honour for the people of the Union Territory. We thank Congress president Sonia Gandhi for this gesture.” This is how Chief Minister N. Rangasamy responded to the appointment of All India Congress Committee general secretary and Rajya Sabha Member V. Narayanasamy as Union Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs and Planning on Sunday.

Mr. Rangasamy reporters at his office on Monday that he was quite confident that Mr. Narayanasamy’s induction into the Union Ministry would pave the way for receiving more assistance for the overall progress of Puducherry.

But, Mr. Rangasamy’s detractors in the government and the Pradesh Congress Committee are jubilant over the appointment for a different reason. They see it as a shot in the arm for them and yet another political setback for the Chief Minister, as the appointment had come within a fortnight of the appointment of Mr. Narayanasamy’s close confidant and former Assembly Speaker A. V.Subramanian as the PCC chief on March 24.

The response of the supporters of former PCC chief P. Shanmugam to Mr. Narayanasamy’s appointment was well-guarded. The UT had got a berth in the Union Ministry after a gap of 16 years.

A. Gandhiraj hoped that the newly appointed Minister would strive, along with the Chief Minister, to promote the welfare of the people and develop the economy of the UT, besides taking steps to achieve special category statehood for Puducherry.

Shortly after assuming office at Yojana Bhavan, Mr. Narayanasamy made it clear that he would strive for the progress of the UT by bringing in large projects such as Information Technology park and textile park.

AICC member V. Balaji described Mr. Nayarayanasamy’s appointment as a “political elevation and recognition to his service to the Congress.”

Such views had been greeted with scepticism by the supporters of the Chief Minister, owing to Mr. Narayanasamy’s stand on different issues during the past one year. Even as five Ministers crossed swords with the Chief Minister, he openly supported the former. He had also flayed the government on the law and order front.

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