Pondicherry turf war: Government to drag L-G Kiran Bedi to Court

PUDUCHERRY: The ongoing confrontation between Lt Governor Kiran Bedi and Chief Minister V Narayanasamy escalated on Tuesday with the government deciding to move court against the L-G for keeping in abeyance an order of Chief Secretary Manoj Parida, extending the tenure of seven MLAs as chairpersons of boards and statutory bodies.

The Chief Secretary had issued the order after the Ministry of Home Affairs approved the extension of the MLAs’ tenure based on a decision by the Cabinet. However, Bedi issued an order on Nov 6 stating that the order issued by the Chief Secretary was ‘unauthorised’ as it was without the approval of a ‘competent authority’ and hence was to be held in abeyance till an appropriate order was issued by her, the ‘competent authority’.

The L-G clarified that she was not in any conflict with the Union Home Ministry but was correcting the ‘unauthorised’ order issued by Chief Secretary Manoj Parida, which was her duty. The Home Ministry was informed that she was correcting the due process, which had been violated by the Chief Secretary. “The Home Ministry’s order was not addressed to the Chief Secretary but to the Secretary to the L-G,”Bedi pointed out.

However, Narayanasamy is in no mood to accept the explanation. The Cabinet recommended the extension of the chairpersons’ tenure and sent the file to the L-G. However, she didn’t agree to the decision, insisting on a performance report, and sent the file to the MHA, which approved the tenure extension against her wish. She should have resigned if she was still against the appointment, the CM said. “The L-G cannot stall a Central government order... She does not have the power to do so,” he added.

Narayanasamy further said any service-related orders could be issued through the Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms (DP&AR). In this case, Bedi herself signed and issued the orders, which was not valid and this would be met legally. The government would soon move the court against the actions of the L-G, he said, adding that the Home Ministry was apprised of the scenario.