Bedi, Pondy CM on different page over Supreme Court order

As she tagged excerpts of the apex court order related to this aspect in social media, Narayanasamy accused her of sending ‘wrong information’ to officials and the media and stuck to his stand that the verdict on powers of Lt Governor of Delhi was applicable to Puducherry also. 

The differing stands of Bedi and Narayanasamy on the apex court order indicated that the ongoing confrontation between them on their respective powers is unlikely to end soon. The Congress government headed by Narayanasamy has been accusing Bedi of infringing on its powers and obstructing the functioning of the elected government, a charge denied by her. 

The Supreme Court had yesterday clarified that Puducherry cannot be compared with the case of Delhi as it is governed by a provision which is different from that concerning the national capital. The verdict prompted a demand for its replication in Puducherry, with Narayanasamy yesterday warning he would launch legal proceedings if the verdict was violated. 

Bedi in a tweet on Thursday tagged the portion of the court order which mentioned about Puducherry. “These are the words of Honourable Supreme Court in Government of NCT of Delhi vs Union of India and another. Honourable Court has made a clear distinction between the two. 

Delhi as a UT and Puducherry as a UT,” the former IPS officer said. Narayanasamy, whose government is locked in a running battle with Bedi on various issues in the past two years, hurriedly convened a press conference to refute the Lt Governor’s assertion.

Chief Minister V Narayanasamy on Thursday clarified in the territorial assembly that the alleged continued violations by Lt Governor Kiran Bedi has forced K Lakshminarayanan, Parliamentary Secretary to the CM, to file a petition against her in the Madras High court.

Replying to a special mention from AIADMK leader A Anbazhagan, the CM said he had written letters to the L-G 19 times pointing out her violation of guidelines. Further it was brought to the notice of President, Prime Minister and Union Home Minister.

However, there was no response from any quarters following which Lakshminarayanan moved the court stating that the LG is misusing powers, he added.