Kiran Bedi Removed As Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry, Telangana Governor Given Additional Charge

Puducherry: Kiran Bedi has been removed as Lieutenant-Governor of Puducherry, Rashtrapati Bhavan said in a statement released late Tuesday night. “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 Rashtrapati Bhavan statement said.

Earlier this month, Puducherry Chief Minister Narayanasamy met the President to seek recall of Lt Governor Kiran Bedi, for allegedly impeding implementation of various decisions of the elected government. The CM was accompanied by Welfare Minister M Kandasamy, Health Minister Malladi Krishna Rao and lone member from Puducherry in Lok Sabha V Vaithilingam.

They left for the national capital from Chennai. The delegation, the sources said, had submitted documents containing signatures collected from the people in the last two weeks, urging the Centre to replace Kiran Bedi. The ruling Congress led Secular Democratic Alliance had gone on a four day agitation here from January 8, demanding recall of Bedi.

The Chief Minister, who took part in the agitation, had alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bedi “hatched a conspiracy to dismantle the separate status of Puducherry by merging it with Tamil Nadu.” He had also accused the PM and Bedi of being keen on depriving the people of Puducherry of their rights.

The SDA, barring the DMK, had gone on a day long fast here on February 5, demanding recall of Lieutenant Governor Kiran Bedi. The alliance also proposes to observe a bandh here on February 16 to press for their demand.

Bedi, a former IPS officer, and Narayanasamy have been at logger heads over various issues ever since she was appointed the Lt Governor in May 2016 with the ruling Congress accusing her of going against decisions of the government. The Congress had in December, 2019 written to President Ram Nath Kovind seeking the recall of Bedi, who has maintained that being the Administrator of the Union Territory she was only discharging her duties as per law.