Puducherry Assembly election: Modi takes a swipe at Congress, DMK over crisis in INDIA bloc in Puducherry

Seizing the political opportunity created due to the differences within the INDIA bloc in Puducherry, BJP leader and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said voters of the Union Territory will reject the Congress and the DMK in the April 9 Assembly polls as people are aware of their power struggle within the alliance.

Interacting with the booth-level workers at BJP’s Mera Booth Sabse Mazbooth programme through video-conferencing, the Prime Minister said the Congress and the DMK are fighting each other in the polls for dominance. He made the remarks when a BJP worker referred to the “poor” track-record of the previous Congress-DMK government in the Union Territory.

Indirectly referring to the discord among the constituents of the INDIA bloc over sharing seats and distribution of constituencies, the Prime Minister said, “They [Congress and DMK] have not changed even now. They are fighting with each other for power. Such parties will lose deposit in the Assembly elections.”

Urging party workers to remind people about the misgovernance of the previous Congress government in Puducherry, the Prime Minister said even the Congress and DMK parties are aware that the people are quite dissatisfied with them. “For the Congress and the DMK, its family first. Congress is trying to serve the interest of the first family in Delhi [referring to Gandhi family],” he added.

Calling upon the BJP workers to spread awareness among the public about the welfare and development initiatives of the NDA governments at the Centre and Puducherry, the Prime Minister said the ‘double-engine’ government was able to deliver on the promises because of the synergy between the Centre and the Union Territory. “While the Puducherry government implemented various schemes, the DMK government in Tamil Nadu tried to block the Central schemes,” he said.

When a booth-level worker said around 7,000 women in the Union Territory have benefited from the Centre’s Lakhpati Didi Scheme, the Prime Minister said the karyakartas of the party should tell the people that the government was working towards making 10,000 women beneficiaries of the scheme in Puducherry.

Crediting his government for initiating several schemes for the welfare of fishermen, Mr. Modi said the Congress, while in power at the Centre, had ignored the development needs of the community. “It is our government that created a separate Ministry for Fishermen Welfare,” Mr. Modi added.