PUDUCHERRY: Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanasamy on Monday advised Lt Governor Kiran Bedi to stop writing open letters to him as the contents were 'contrary to facts'.
Narayanasamy in a video release said that the Lt Governor should function as per the aid and advice of the council of ministers. However, without approving proposals based on the policy decisions of the government, she is returning files and stating that they are not with her office.
This was the case with the file pertaining to the salary of teachers of government aided private schools and pensions for fishermen, he said. It is not proper on the part of the LG to state that the file is not with her when she has returned it without granting approval, he added.
Stating that the Lt. Governor had written to welfare minister M Kandasamy advising him that ministers should talk only to the secretaries and chief secretary to clear their doubts and not to subordinate officials, Narayanasamy said that the Lt Governor does not have the powers to advise the Chief Minister, ministers or legislators.
Pointing out that on several instances the LG had been ‘admonishing’ officers in public which went viral on social media, the chief minister said that in contrast ministers are dealing with officials with respect.
Besides, he charged that the Lt Governor was wasting the time of officials through WhatsApp chats with them and ‘scolding’ them without coming out of Raj Nivas and knowing the ground reality amid the pandemic. She is also giving wrong information to the Centre, he added.
He said the administration is implementing the recommendations of the central team in a phased manner though the Centre is not providing funds. It is using limited funds from its own resources.
More facilities would be in place for COVID testing, with the ICMR having permitted the territorial administration to utilize the Vector Control Research Center (VCRC) here to take sample tests. Hence, the number of tests will be more in the coming days, he said.
The Chief Minister also maintained that 80 percent of people who died of COVID here had co-morbidities. The recovery rate in the Union territory is 70 percent and it will soon reach the national average of 74 percent, he added.
Narayanasamy urges Centre to cancel NEET
The Chief Minister on Monday also reiterated that the Centre should cancel the National Eligibility and Entrance Test (NEET).
He pointed out that after getting an order from the Supreme Court, the Centre is going ahead with the NEET. It is playing with the lives of the students and thereby adopting an “anti-students” attitude, he charged.
Taking exception to the reported move of the Centre to suspend the LPG cylinder subsidy, Narayanasamy urged it not to do so.
Alleging that the Centre is not taking any initiative to tide over the fallout of negative economic growth in the country, Narayanasamy said it is not considering different suggestions given by former Union minister P Chidambaram to make the economy vibrant.