Invoking the political legacy of DMK patriarch and former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi who “always walked the talk”, DMK youth wing leader and Tamil Nadu Minister for Youth Welfare and Sports Development Udhayanidhi Stalin said on Sunday that Puducherry would be granted Statehood as promised in the DMK manifesto if the INDIA bloc came to power in the 2024 Lok Sabha election.
Mr. Udhayanidhi, who took out a road show and campaigned for Congress candidate and sitting Puducherry MP V.Vaithilingam, assured the crowd at meetings in Villianur, Marappalam and Anna Statue, that as a legatee of the DMK patriarch, Chief Minister M.K. Stalin would also be true to his word and ensure Statehood, which has been a long-standing aspiration of the people of Puducherry.
He also promised to roll back privatisation of the Electricity Department, reopen ration shops and waive off legacy debt and implement assurances to revive State enterprises that had been closed down, to provide employment to youth, offer an insurance scheme similar to the ‘Chief Minister’s Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme’, reopen the shuttered sugar mill and expedite expansion of the airport.