Puducherry chief minister betrayed his people: Jayalalithaa

Puducherry, March 27 (IANS) Terming her Puducherry counterpart N.Rangasamy weak and non-functional, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J.Jayalalithaa Thursday charged him with betraying both her AIADMK and the people by forming the government with the support of an independent.

Addressing an election rally here, Jayalalithaa said in 2011 assembly elections, her party had aligned with N.R.Congress and the people had voted for the alliance.

"The N.R.Congress did not get majority. Turning away its alliance partner, the AIADMK, N.Rangasamy formed the government with the support of an independent. In other words, he acted contrary to your views. He not only betrayed AIADMK but also you," said Jayalalithaa, also the AIADMK chief.

She said had only the government had formed with AIADMK support, then the people of Puducherry would have benefited from freebies like mixer, grinder, laptops and others, like the people of her state.

Jayalalithaa said people have not derived any benefit from the N.R.Congress' rule. Rangasamy does not raise his voice of protest when fishermen from Karaikal are arrested by Sri Lankan Navy, she said.

"I take steps to get the Tamil Nadu fishermen freed when arrested by Sri Lankan Navy. When our Tamil Nadu fishermen get released from Sri Lanka, the fishermen from Karaikal too get released due to my efforts," she claimed.

She said the N.R.Congress government has not passed even a single resolution in the assembly against the Sri Lankan government acting against the Tamils in the island nation.

Jayalalithaa said the growth in Puducherry has gone down as the Planning Commission has allowed only Rs.2,000 crore this fiscal for planned expenditure as against Rs.3,000 crore allowed in 2012-13.

She said the N.R.Congress supported the anti-people policies of the central government and remained mute spectator when the state's rights are revoked by it.

Jayalalithaa then turned her guns at the sitting Congress Lok Sabha member V. Narayanasamy, saying Puducherry did not see any industrial growth despite Narayanasamy being a central minister.

Narayanasamy did not take any steps to modernise the cotton mills or open the closed mills in Puducherry nor took steps to bring new railway lines and other infrastructure schemes, she said.

Referring to the coal supply deal between a government undertaking in Puducherry and private company JR Power Gen, she said there was no transparency in the deal.

Jayalalithaa said if the power project was implemented by a government company, then Puducherry would have prospered.