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After SC relief for AAP, all eyes on Kiran Bedi-Congress tussle in Puducherry

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In Puducherry, the Congress government of V. Narayanasamy is at loggerheads with L-G Kiran Bedi, who is accused of interfering in governance matters.

New Delhi: The focus of the battle for political supremacy in union territories is expected to shift to Puducherry in light of the Supreme Court’s ruling Wednesday that the Delhi lieutenant governor (L-G) can neither act independently nor obstruct policy decisions taken by the elected government.

In Puducherry (which also has a chief minister and an assembly), the elected Congress government has been complaining of routine interference from the L-G’s office. Former IPS officer Kiran Bedi, who was the BJP’s chief ministerial candidate for Delhi in 2015, is the Puducherry L-G.

“I welcome the verdict,” Puducherry chief minister V. Narayanasamy said after the Supreme Court judgment. “It is totally applicable to the government of Puducherry, which is also a union territory.”

Adding that he will file a contempt petition against anyone who fails to abide by the Supreme Court judgment, the former union minister said, “Whoever functions contrary to the judgment now delivered by the apex court would face serious action.”

Not the first time 

Narayanasamy and Bedi have shared a difficult relationship ever since the two assumed office, within days of each other, in 2016, with the former often taking exception to her style of functioning.

While the L-G is legally bound to act in consultation and concurrence with the elected government, Bedi routinely makes field visits and convenes meetings with officials at Raj Bhavan, often without the knowledge of ministers.

In a bid to curb Bedi’s powers last year, the Congress government passed a resolution that called on the Centre to amend the Government of Union Territories Act, 1963, so only the elected government was vested with full powers on administrative matters.

In July last year, the chief minister announced a bandh in Puducherry after Bedi inducted three BJP leaders in the state assembly, calling it “a shame on the Constitution and the democratic norms and conventions”.

A ‘BJP agent’ or a good administrator? 

In a widely criticised diktat in May this year, Bedi stated that the government’s free rice scheme would only operate in rural areas certified to be free of open defecation and garbage.

While her “arbitrary actions” have led several political parties to call her “a BJP agent”, Bedi, who insists she is only carrying out her responsibilities, continues to assert her power over administrative matters — interacting and communicating with officials directly over WhatsApp, without any knowledge of the ministers.

On Wednesday, she paid a “surprise visit” to the municipal corporation’s revenue wing to gauge how her scheme of “naming and shaming” property tax defaulters was working.

A few days ago, in a WhatsApp message to reporters, she said she had reviewed the progress of a housing initiative along with various government officials, but no minister.

While the Supreme Court order in the AAP-L-G tussle has been hailed as a victory by the party, it remains to be seen how the tug-of-war between the Congress-led government in Puducherry and Bedi pans out.

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1 COMMENT

  1. Dr Kiran Bedi has a simple litmus test to illumine the way forward. Had she won the election in Delhi and become CM, she should now treat Mr Narayanasamy as she would wished the LG to treat her.

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