Interview/ N. Rangasamy, Puducherry chief minister
Q/ This is the second time you are contesting elections as part of the NDA. How different is this time for you?
Every election is new to me. My main aim is Puducherry’s development. Puducherry is a small Union territory without large revenue sources; development can only be brought with the support of the government of India. In a Union territory, “government” means the governor, not the elected body. The governor is supreme according to a Supreme Court order [passed] during the last Narayanasamy government. After that order, the administration changed a lot. So there are challenges that I have faced when in power.
Q/ What is the most important thing that you have delivered in the past five years? And how is it going to help you in the polls?
Regarding welfare schemes, Puducherry is number one in India. We are the ones giving the highest old-age pension, up to Rs4,000 [a month]. Similarly, for female heads of families, we provide Rs2,500 as monthly dole. In neighbouring Tamil Nadu, they are saying only now that the monthly dole will be increased to Rs2,000.
For female holders of the yellow ration card, Rs1,000 has been finalised and forwarded to the lieutenant governor. We will implement it when we return to power.
Q/ A major issue in Puducherry is unemployment. Did your government deliver on this as promised?
There was an unemployment crisis when I took over. But we have since given jobs to 5,000 youth. In these five years, we have filled regular posts like LDC and UDC (lower-division and upper-division clerks). For many years, no one filled any post. After this government came, we ordered all vacancies to be filled. We started with LDC assistants, and filled 5,000 vacancies for staff nurses, police constables and home guards. In the revenue department and collectorate, positions like village administrative officer, tehsildar, and deputy tehsildar were [filled]. We filled all teacher posts, totalling 5,000. Now, another 1,000 vacancies are ready to be filled.
Q/ But it is not the Rangasamy government that delivered; technically, it is the NDA government that did. And the BJP calls it a double-engine government.
As I said earlier, in a Union territory, the governor is supreme and the money has to come from the Union government for implementing any policy decision. Even small matters require governor’s signature now. That is why I have been asking for statehood for Puducherry for years. We need not only an elected government, but also elected power.
We have to go along with whoever the government of India appoints as governor because we need their support for development. We have to balance this politically. We are getting a lot of funds now. We are spending over Rs3,000 crore on development work. Every constituency has Rs300 crore worth of work going on. Earlier, it was difficult to give even Rs1 crore for constituency development. But today, we are doing a lot for MLAs, regardless of their party.
Only if this government returns to power can we continue this work. I know the Congress and the DMK have experienced difficulties. So, to get funds for development, the elected government will have to work in coordination with the Union government.
Q/ So, it is pragmatic to be with the BJP and the NDA?
You can describe it however you want. The lieutenant governor makes the final decision. Until statehood comes, Puducherry can only be developed through coordinating with the party in power at the Centre.