Pondy CM attacks Centre over GST, demonetisation

Puducherry: Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanasamy today accused the NDA government at the Centre of “ruining” the country’s economy by adopting “injurious” economic policies. Addressing party workers here on the death anniversary of former prime minister Indira Gandhi, he claimed, “The Centre has ruined the economy of the country by introducing the Goods and Services Tax.” 

“Farmers, unemployed youth, poorer sections and small and medium industrialists are suffering a lot following demonetisation which came into effect a year ago,” he alleged. “The Centre’s injurious economic policies have thus hit the revenue of Puducherry and bigger states like Tamil Nadu and Karnataka,” he claimed.

Narayanasamy also alleged that the NDA government was using different nomenclatures for the welfare schemes which were launched by the Congress during the tenure of Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi and Manmohan Singh.

“The contents and spirit of the schemes were what the Congress rule had intended in the past…Only the names are changed to give them a look as if they are evolved by the BJP,” he claimed. In a veiled attack on Lt Governor Kiran Bedi, the chief minister alleged, “Certain persons are functioning in Puducherry as the agents of the BJP.” 

The Congress government in the Union Territory has been at loggerheads with Bedi on a host of issues since she assumed office. On the Gujarat elections, Narayanasamy claimed that the “upcoming polls will teach a lesson to the BJP and the prime minister as industrialists and other sections there are disillusioned with the capability of the party to deliver the goods”.

He claimed there was a change in the mood of people in the favour of the Congress and the BJP would be pushed aside in Gujarat to ensure the Congress rule there. PCC chief A Namassivayam said the first anniversary of demonetisation on November 8 would be observed as ‘Black Day’ in association with the alliance partners and fraternal parties to protest the step of the NDA government as per direction of the AICC.