Kiran Bedi has on Tuesday been removed as the Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry. Tamilisai Soundararajan, Governor of Telangana, has been given additional charge as Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry, Rashtrapati Bhavan informed in a press release.
"The President has directed that Dr. Kiran Bedi shall cease to hold the office of the Lieutenant-Governor of Puducherry and has appointed Dr. Tamilisai Soundararajan, Governor of Telangana, to discharge the functions of the Lieutenant-Governor of Puducherry, in addition to her own duties, with effect from the date she assumes charge of her office, until regular arrangements for the office of Lieutenant-Governor of Puducherry are made," the statement read.
Bedi's removal comes ahead of the Legislative Assembly polls scheduled to be held in Puducherry between April and May this year, and the Congress party's ongoing crisis in the union territory. The party has lost its majority after the resignation of their four MLAs.
Earlier in the day, Puducherry Social Welfare Minister Kandasamy said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and LG Kiran Bedi have been harassing the Congress government for four and a half years. "They are trying to dissolve the regime. We are working to dissolve the cabinet headed by CM Narayanasamy and win the assembly elections again," he said.