'Pondy can hardly make any progress without Centre's

Raising a virtual banner of revolt, a Congress legislator in Puducherry today said the Union Territory can hardly make any progress without the support of BJP-led NDA government at the Centre.
When contacted, Congress legislator Malladi Krishna Rao, representing the Yanam segment in Puducherry Assembly, told PTI over phone from New Delhi that he was seeking clearance of two major projects involving an assistance of Rs 11 crore from the Tourism and Forests ministries for development of tourism and other projects in Yanam.
He said he would meet high ranking officials in the two Ministries in Delhi tomorrow.
"Puducherry as a Union Territory can hardly make any progress without the backing of the NDA government at the Centre," he said.

Asked if he was planning to shift his allegiance to the ruling AINRC party in Puducherry as had been reported in a section of the media, he said his followers in Yanam had ' been pressuring him to go over to the AINRC.
He said he had been distancing himself for the last seven months from all Congress programmes and added that he was planning to field one of his followers in Yanam on AINRC ticket to contest the Assembly poll in 2016.

"I do not intend to contest the polls due next year for the Assembly as I want to call it quits for poll battle," he said.

Except on the issue of statehood for Puducherry he was in total agreement with the Chief Minister on other matters,he said.
Asked whether his open appreciation of the Chief Minister at a function in Yanam recently and also his observation that Rangasamy would continue to hold the reins of power without break, would not attract action from Congress, he said "let them take any action."
"At the same time I want to know what action the Congress had taken against those who had not put in any work in the Lok Sabha polls for Congress nominee V Narayanasamy or acted against him at the polls."

Rao, who has been holding the Yanam segment since 1996, has been opposing the plea for statehood for Puducherry.