Puducherry CM demanded that Kiran Bedi resign from her post of lieutenant governor, saying that she has no right to interfere in the everyday functioning as stated by the Madras high court
Puducherry:Puducherry chief minister demands the resignation of lieutenant governor Kiran Bedi. Chief minister V Narayanaswamy urged Bedi to resign after a hearing of Madras high court that stated that the lieutenant governor “cannot interfere in day-to-day activities of the elected government in the union territory”.
The Madras high court had very clearly laid down that the Lt governor has no power to act independently and must work in tandem with the chief minister and council of ministers in the Union territory, Narayanaswamy said
Adding to his statement, Narayanaswamy remarked that the Madras high court had given the verdict on the written petition filed by Congress legislator K Lakshminarayanan questioning the Lt governor’s interference in the administration of the elected government.
Referring to various issues in which "interference by Bedi had impeded implementation of decisions of the cabinet," the chief minister said that she had put obstacles in implementation of the cabinet’s decision to write off farm loans due from ryots to the cooperative banks.
He also pointed out that the government had approached the Union Home Ministry for its nod to write off crop loans and after getting approval could implement the decision.
Narayanasamy alleged that implementation of the rice scheme was also obstructed by Bedi, who raised several “hypothetical and amusing queries.” He also stated that various instances by the Lt governor was a major “bottleneck”.
The recent judgement of the Madras HC restricting the intervention of the Lt Governor was a "big relief and would prove very positive in implementing cabinet decisions," he said.
He said that the court had also pointed out that decisions taken by the cabinet could be communicated to the Lt governor and not for her approval.
CM said that he had information that Bedi was planning to appeal against the high court verdict.
“No appeal can be preferred by Bedi as administrator of Puducherry without the nod of the elected government,” he added.
Narayanasamy who has been at loggerheads with Bedi on various administrative matters ever since she assumed charge in May 2016, said in democracy “the elected government has the authorisation of the people and hence the Lt governor cannot stand in the way of the implementation of the schemes decided by the cabinet”.
Accusing Bedi of being a major hindrance and misusing her constitutional authority, he said that as the high court had come up with a clear picture of the power of elected members of the government, she should quit without any further loss of time.
Read Exclusive COVID-19 Coronavirus News updates, at MyNation.