NE NEWS SERVICE
PUDUCHERRY, JULY 14
Senior Congress leader Sanjay Dutt on Tuesday hits out at the Centre for “deliberately” delaying approval to the budget proposals submitted by the Congress government in Puducherry and termed it as politically motivated.
It was more than 50 days since the territorial government submitted its budget proposals for the fiscal 2020 -2021 to the Centre for procedural approval, Dutt, who is in charge of Congress party affairs in Puducherry and Tamil Nadu, said in a statement.
“The Centre however, deliberately continues to delay its clearance even though all the mandatory financial parameters and norms have been followed and abided by the Puducherry government,” the AICC secretary added.
“It is very obvious that such delaying tactics on the part of the Centre is politically motivated, mala fide and a malicious conspiracy aimed at targeting the Congress government in Puducherry,” he alleged.
He lauded the efforts of Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanasamy and his Cabinet in battling the coronavirus situation in the union territory.
He also criticised the Central government for continuing to deny the Union Territory its share of GST revenue and other grants.
The AICC Secretary alleged that Lt Governor Kiran Bedi continued to “overstep her constitutional authority in blocking welfare schemes of Puducherry government and interfere in the day-to-day functioning of the duly elected government, demoralising the administration during the current crisis caused by coronavirus.”
The full budget for the fiscal 2020-2021 is yet to be adopted. The territorial Assembly had passed a Vote-on-Account (Appropriation) Bill at its earlier session on March 30 sanctioning funds to the government departments to meet their routine liabilties during the first three months (April to June) in the new fiscal.
