Joining the chorus against Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit for holding a meeting with government officials in Coimbatore, Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanasamy today said only elected governments can hold such interactions.
The central government is trying to "cripple" governance in opposition-ruled states using governors and Lt Governors, he told reporters.
The Puducherry chief minister is himself engaged in a bitter spat with Lt Governor Kiran Bedi over her style of functioning.
"It is not the job of a governor to invite officials and unilaterally hold a meeting and issue orders," he said, adding only an elected government can conduct such meetings.
Narayanasamy's comments come on a day when a political row erupted in Tamil Nadu over Purohit's meeting in Coimbatore with the DMK and other opposition parties claiming it amounted to "interference in the state's rights".
DMK working president M K Stalin, leaders of the Congress, CPI(M), CPI, PMK and even deposed AIADMK deputy chief T T V Dhinakaran flayed Purohit for the meeting.
The Narayanasamy-led Congress government in Puducherry has been accusing Bedi of interfering in the routine administration of the Union territory.
The latest bone of contention between both sides is the swearing-in of three nominated MLAs to the Assembly.
The chief minister had yesterday said legal remedy would be sought to establish the rights of democratically elected government in the Union territory.
(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)