Union home ministry had been urging polls on the Puducherry administration to hold polls for the last 10 years but it hasn’t happened. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday gave a very public nudge to the Puducherry administration for not facilitating local body polls in the Union Territory, even as he commended the successful conclusion of the District Development Council polls in Jammu and Kashmir. Mr. Modi’s pointing out of Congress-ruled Puducherry’s reluctance to hold local polls, whereas Centrally-ruled Jammu and Kashmir had done so, was aimed at the Congress’ own patchy record. The Supreme Court had ordered in 2018 that local body polls be held in Puducherry, where local body polls hadn’t been held since 2006. The Union Home Ministry has been urging the Puducherry administration to hold local body polls for the last 10 years but it hasn’t happened.

Source: The Hindu December 26, 2020 10:20 UTC