Puducherry: Amid crisis in Congress govt, Centre removes Kiran Bedi from L-G post
New Delhi: The politics in Puducherry has taken a new turn on Tuesday as the Centre sacked Kiran Bedi from the post of Lieutenant-Governor of the Union Territory, which is considered as an integral part of Tamil Nadu.
As per political experts, the removal of Bedi just a few weeks ahead of the announcement of Assembly polls in the UT is being widely seen as a political strategy by the BJP to negate the Congress' campaign that focused on allegations that Bedi was creating hurdles in the development of Puducherry at the behest of the Centre.
The statement from President Ram Nath Kovind's office said that Tamilisai Soundararajan, the Governor of Telangana, had been directed to discharge the functions of the Lieutenant-Governor of Puducherry, in addition to her own duties, until a new appointment is made.
The removal of Bedi amid the 'huge crisis' in Congress is seen as a damage control move by the BJP, which is trying its best to make inroads in Tamil Nadu as the sacked L-G had locked horns with incumbent Chief Minister V Narayanasamy, who has a strong support base among the people of Tamil Nadu.
Recently, Narayanasamy had also submitted a memorandum to President Kovind and wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and complained about the hindrances created by Bedi in running the government.
Notably, the resignation of four Congress MLAs in the last two days has brought the congress-led government in minority in Puducherry — just a day ahead of Rahul Gandhi's visit to the UT on Wednesday to launch the party's election campaign. The number of Congress MLAs has reduced to 10 in the House with the present strength of 28 members.
The Congress has the support of three DMK and one independent MLA. The Opposition has also 14 MLAs — one less than the half-way mark of 15.
The Congress, which has won 15 seats in 2016, has now reduced to 10 as one of its MLA was disqualified the last year. A John Kumar, who is a close confidant of Puducherry CM, became the latest MLA to resign on Tuesday.
An urgent Cabinet meeting has also been called by the CM to discuss the resignations, while Puducherry Assembly Speaker VP Sivakolundhu has said that he will decide on Kumar's resignation soon.
Seizing on the opportunity, the Opposition which also has 14 MLAs in the 33-member house, demanded the resignation of Chief Minister V Narayanasamy, saying his government was in minority.
However, Narayanasamy rejected the demand, claiming that his government continued to enjoy 'majority' in the Assembly, which is set to go for polls in the next few months.
