PUDUCHERRY/CHENNAI: The DMK president M K Stalin on Thursday took potshots at the Puducherry Lt. Governor, Dr Kiran Bedi charging her with obstructing the implementation of people’s welfare schemes in the union territory (UT).
Campaigning for the DMK’s ally, Congress’ candidate John Kumar for the October 21 by-Assembly election from Kamaraj Nagar in the UT, Stalin said while Puducherry had a “revolutionary Chief Minister” in V Narayanasamy, who is keen to implement welfare schemes for the people, it was the Lt. Governor who kept blocking their implementation.
Recalling late DMK founder-leader C N Annadurai’s words that the post of the Governor was “redundant”, Stalin said the ‘free dhoti’ and ‘free rice’ schemes in Puducherry had hit a roadblock due to Dr Kiran Bedi’s attitude. This was most unfortunate, he underscored.
Stalin further charged that the BJP at the Centre was “indirectly running the Puducherry government through the Lt. Governor,” while in neighbouring Tamil Nadu, the BJP was “directly running” the administration, thanks to a pliable Chief Minister in Mr. Edappadi K Palaniswami.
Referring to the All India NR Congress leader N Rengasamy having ditched his former ally Ms Jayalalithaa in Puducherry after the 2011 polls, Stalin said the former had teamed up with the BJP and was fighting the DMK-Congress alliance now. People should see through this game and reject the All India NR Congress candidate, the DMK leader urged.
Contrasting the functioning of the Congress Chief Minister V Narayanasamy in Puducherry and that of the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, Edappadi K Palaniswami, the DMK leader said the former was an example of how “a CM should rule”, but the latter was a personification of how a “CM should not rule”.
