Puducherry CM V Narayanasamy to meet PM over Lt guv's interference

Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanasamy on Wednesday said that he would lead a delegation of political party leaders including his ministers and legislators to meet the President and the Prime Minister to complain against Lt Governor Kiran Bedi's style of functioning and her continuous interference in routine administration.

"I will head a team of my ministerial colleagues and MLAs to meet the President, the Prime Minister, Home Minister and leaders of various political parties soon and apprise them of the style of functioning of Bedi," he told reporters in the union territory. He said he would also discuss the unabated violation of statutory provisions in discharging her (Bedi) duties and "interfering in the routine administration by the elected ministry."

Ever since Bedi assumed office in 2016, the Congress government headed by Narayanasamy and Bedi have been at loggerheads over several issues including civic problems, medical admission and nomination of three MLAs. Bedi's visit to the office of the Public Works Department chief engineer along with the secretary and other officials of the department and her officials on Tuesday has become the latest flashpoint.

"Going to departments and sitting with the rank and file, reviewing and thinking together helps a mutual lift as it did in the visit to PWD. Such visits are most rewarding, most energising and most refreshing," she said in a tweet on Wednesday morning. She said that she would visit another department next week following her visit to the social welfare and the PWD offices this week.

Referring to Bedi's visit to the PWD office and meeting with the officials yesterday, Narayanasamy said, "She has no right to make such visits and hold review meetings. By such meetings, she is causing insult and disrespect to the elected government".

Narayanasamy said he had written several times to Bedi stating that she could only bring any routine matter of the government to his notice or that of the concerned Ministers. Except the Governor of Tamil Nadu no other head of state or Union Territory in the country is visiting government departments and holding review meetings as Bedi is doing now, he claimed.