PUDUCHERRY: The simmering differences between Chief Minister V Narayanasamy and activist Lieutenant Governor Kiran Bedi have finally come to the fore. Narayanasamy on Tuesday took sharp objection to Kiran Bedi’s style of functioning, stating that the Lieutenant Governor should accept the decisions of the cabinet and function accordingly.
During a high-level meeting, the Chief Minister asked officials to not respond to Bedi’s instructions over WhatsApp groups. He also asked them to not bypass the ministers. The officials were given a rundown on how they should function and rules governing the functioning of the territorial administration. Shortly after the meeting, Narayanasamy said the ministers had full powers to deal with law and order and administration concerning the government employees. The Lt. Governor should accept the decisions, as per the provision of the Constitution, he said.
The confrontation between Narayanasamy, who is well-versed in Delhi politics, and Kiran Bedi was expected. Sources say that Bedi and Narayanasamy were not seeing eye-to-eye on various matters of the administration, including the appointment and posting of officials. The Lieutenant Governor has been directly convening meetings with officials and calling for files ever since she assumed charge on May 29. For the past few days, prior to her visit to New Delhi where she called on the Prime Minister and other members of the union cabinet, secretaries and directors were directly taking files to Bedi based on her directions.
Referring to the instructions given on WhatsApp (Bedi had created various WhatsApp groups), the Chief Minister said it was neither proper nor recognised way for functioning.