Cong govt at centre will help Puducherry

Pitching for electing the Congress in coming Lok Sabha polls, Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanasamy Tuesday said if the party came back to power at the Centre all states and union territories would witness development.

Canvassing votes for party nominee V Vaithilingam in the lone Lok Sabha in the union territory, he accused the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre of 'discriminatory' approach towards Puducherry which hampered implementation of welfare schemes by the Congress government led by him.

"There is every need for the Congress to stage a comeback at the Centre so that all the states and Union Territory of Puducherry could make development with the cooperation of the Central government," he said.

The chief minister claimed the Centre had reduced grants to Puducherry to 24 per cent while full-fledged state were getting 46 per cent.

He alleged Puducherry Lt Governor Kiran Bedi was also impeding development and implementation of welfare schemes.

Noting that farmers' loans were written off by his government, he said: "Congress would walk the talk and the manifesto released by it wouldameliorate the lot of the poor, the farmers, youth and other sections.