Congress leader Dolly Sharma

NEW DELHI: Congress leader Dolly Sharma on Thursday alleged “widespread corruption” in Puducherry, claiming that people are being forced to pay a “30% commission” to get work done. Sharma also questioned the delay in granting statehood to Puducherry, despite the BJP being both in power at the Centre and part of the AINRC-led coalition government in the poll-bound Union territory. “The manner in which a continuously corrupt government is operating in Puducherry is truly alarming. If you want to get any work done, you are required to pay a 30% commission. Five years have passed; the BJP holds power at the Centre and in the state, yet why has Puducherry not received statehood?” Sharma said. Raising concerns over unemployment, she claimed that youth in Puducherry are struggling to find jobs, while liquor remains easily accessible. She also accused the ruling coalition of failing to deliver on electoral promises.“The youth here are unable to find jobs, yet liquor is constantly available. People fully understand the difference between what was promised and what is actually being delivered. Of the hundred promises made in their manifesto, they failed to fulfil even 90,” she added. The Congress is contesting the April 9 Puducherry assembly election in alliance with its existing ally, the DMK. Under the arrangement, the Congress will contest 16 seats, while the DMK has been allotted the remaining 14. Puducherry, a former French colony, has 33-member legislative assembly, of which 30 members are directly elected; the remaining three MLAs are nominated by the Centre. The Congress-DMK alliance also exists in neighboring Tamil Nadu, where DMK supremo and Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin allotted 28 of 234 constituencies to the grand old party, along with a Rajya Sabha berth. Tamil Nadu will vote in a single phase on April 23. Counting of votes in both Puducherry and Tamil Nadu, along with three other poll-bound states – Assam, Kerala, and West Bengal – will take place on May 4.