The Supreme Court judgement on AAP government - Lt Governor tussle in Delhi has triggered a new round of war of words between Puducherry chief minister V Narayanasamy and LG Kiran Bedi on whether the verdict is applicable to the Southern Union Territory or not.
The Supreme Court judgement on AAP government - Lt Governor tussle in Delhi has triggered a new round of war of words between Puducherry chief minister V Narayanasamy and LG Kiran Bedi on whether the verdict is applicable to the Southern Union Territory or not.
A day after Narayanasamy declared that the Apex verdict on Delhi would be applicable to Puducherry too, Bedi said that Puducherry cannot be compared to Delhi as it is governed by a provision which is different from the capital.
In a tweet, Bedi wrote that the Court has made a clear distinction between Delhi and Puducherry.
She posted a screenshot of a portion of the order stating that as a natural corollary, the union territory of Puducherry stands on a different footing from other UTs. “However, we may hasten to add that Puducherry cannot be compared with the NCT of Delhi as it is solely governed by the provisions of Article 239A,” it read.
Speaking to reporters here in Chennai, she said, “Once you read the order there is no confusion...Whatever said in the verdict was applicable only to NCT of Delhi not to Puducherry.” Her assertion has triggered a new row with Narayanasamy-led Congress government which have been in constant conflict in the past two years.
Refuting Lt Governor claim that the Apex court verdict would not be applicable to Puducherry, Narayanasamy said that the judgement clearly says that article 239 AA of the Constitution is not applicable to Puducherry while, Article 239, 239A and 240 are applicable. He said both Delhi and Puducherry are UTs with legislature. “One cannot simply say that the verdict will not be applicable to Puducherry,” he said.
Chief Minister said that the only difference between Puducherry and Delhi is that Puducherry got more powers. “Puducherry got powers on Land, Administration, Finance and Police while, it was opposite in Delhi,” he said.
Pointing to former Attorney General of India Soli Sorabjee comments, he said that the legal expert stated that the Constitutional Bench order would be applicable to all and there is no difference of Puducherry or Delhi. He insisted that Lt Governor should only act as per the advice of the Cabinet and did not have separate power. He said that his government not send any files expect the policy decision to Lt Governor for her information not for consent.
Narayanasamy said that his Parliamentary Secretary K Lakshminarayanan would move the Madras High Court informing it of the Apex court verdict on Delhi’s Lt Governor powers to take up his petition challenging Bedi’s interference in Puducherry government. He said that the High Court did not take up the petition citing the pending case in the Apex Court.
Narayanasamy has been accusing Bedi of interfering with day-to-day activities of his administration sitting on key files and holding meeting with officials without the knowledge of the concerned department ministers. In January last year, the Congress and DMK legislators demanded that the Centre recall Bedi, accusing her having a "dictatorial" style of functioning which bypassed the elected legislature. Last year, the Puducherry assembly adopted a resolution to amend the law and curtail the powers of the Lieutenant Governor for good.
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