Union budget totally ignores Puducherry: Narayanasamy

Puducherry Chief Minister VNarayanasamy on Tuesday said the union budget has 'totally ignored' the Union Territory as sufficient funds needed for developmental activities here are not provided in it.

Addressing reporters, the CM said, ''Puducherry is also apoll bound State, but funds have been earmarked for other poll-bound states like Kerala, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu in the budget for development of national highways.'' Terming as 'unfortunate' the requirements of Puducherrybeing utterly 'neglected', Narayanasamy said this shows that the NDA government at the Centre pays no attention to theunion territory.

''The neglect of Puducherry in the budget is more shocking particularly after BJP national president J P Nadda during apublic meeting here claimed that the NDA government was interested in ameliorating the lot of industrial workers andthat ration shops would be activated in Puducherry,'' he said.

Narayanasamy sought to know how the reopening of millsand ration shops could be possible without allocation offunds.

He further said the central budget, presented on Mondayby Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, did not have any'laudable' schemes or programmes to benefit students, salariedsections, youth, rural workers, women and farmers.

The Centre would normally earmark every year 3000crores as grants to facilitate the implementation of territorialgovernment's budgetary proposals, he noted.

But, it had earmarked only Rs 1729 crores during the the2021-2022 financial year.

He voiced concern over the Centre 'letting down' rural workers by sidelining the MGNREGA scheme in allocation of funds in the budget.

Narayanasamy said the Centre's intention to privatize public sector institutions like banks has been confirmed through the budget proposals and this is a dangerous trend that would hit the poorer sections.

The Centre should drop once and for all the move to handover public sector undertakings to private players, he added.