In Puducherry, the turf war between Lieutenant Governor Kiran Bedi and Chief Minister V. Narayanasamy has intensified. On July 4, much to the dismay of the ruling Congress, Bedi administered oath to three persons nominated to the assembly by the Union government. The BJP’s Puducherry unit president V. Saminathan, its treasurer K.G. Shankar and educationist S. Selva Ganapathy were sworn in as MLAs, despite Speaker V. Vaithilingam having informed Bedi that the assembly had not received “any communication from the competent authority” regarding their nomination.
Bedi, however, insisted that she had acted in accordance with the Government of Union Territories Act, 1963, which says the Centre “may nominate not more than three persons, not being persons in the service of Government, to be members of the Legislative assembly of [the Union territory].” The Congress, however, alleged that she was helping the BJP, which had drawn a blank in the assembly polls last year, gain backdoor entry into the assembly.
“The [actions of the] office of the governor in Puducherry is a classic example of how the BJP is using governors as pawns to disturb democratically elected governments,” said Congress leader S. Jothimani. “Bedi even went to the extent of stopping files related to farm loans and old-age pension, which are directly linked to people’s welfare.”
Soon after the three MLAs were sworn in, parliamentary secretary K. Lakshminarayanan moved the Madras High Court requesting a stay on their nomination. The court, however, refused to grant it, and issued notices to both the Union home ministry and the state government. The case is still pending.
“The speaker has not allotted us seats in the assembly,” said Saminathan. “This is only because we will oppose the government and bring out the corruption here, like our lieutenant governor [has been doing].”
The friction between Bedi and the state government had started in January, when the lieutenant governor suspended A.S. Shivakumar, registrar of cooperative societies, for sending an obscene video to ‘Prosperous Rural Puducherry’, a WhatsApp group administered by the lieutenant governor’s office. Shivakumar said he had sent the video by mistake while attempting to delete it. A case under section 67A of the Information Technology Act (punishment for transmitting material containing sexually explicit act) was registered against him and he was kept in detention for nearly 15 hours.
Critics, however, pointed out that Bedi had no power to suspend the official. According to rules, the lieutenant governor had to inform the chief secretary, and the suspension order should have been issued from the latter’s office after completing an inquiry. The Election Commission, too, took exception to her decision, as it had appointed Shivakumar as an electoral officer. Bedi, it said, “ought to have taken the commission into confidence and consulted it before placing him under suspension”.
On January 5, barely two days after she suspended Shivakumar, Bedi cancelled Narayanasamy’s order banning government employees from using social media for official purposes. “If Puducherry has to be a progressive UT it cannot be retrograde in communications. Hence @CM_Puducherry’s order stands cancelled,” she tweeted. The following day, six Congress legislators wrote to the Union home ministry against what they perceived as her “undemocratic conduct”.
The rift widened as Bedi wrote an open letter to the public, saying she was happy to support the state government as long as it did not “act in conflict with a Central law”. “My approach is not to punish, but to help perform, inspire and support,” she wrote.
The state government, however, maintains that Bedi had been interfering in day-to-day administration. “She has been issuing orders through WhatsApp to heads of departments, without the knowledge of secretaries and ministers who are in charge of the portfolios,” said one minister. “The business rules of Puducherry hold the minister responsible for the actions of various departments under his ministry. But here, the minister is unaware of what is happening.”
In April, AIADMK legislator A. Bhaskar alleged that Pondicherry municipal commissioner R. Chandrasekaran had organised an event related to the Swachh Bharat mission without inviting him. He moved a breach of privilege motion in the assembly, which led to Chandrasekaran’s transfer.
“He is an officer close to the governor,” said Bhaskar. “Every event in my constituency was organised by him without my knowledge. When I asked him [about why he hadn’t invited me to the Swachh Bharat event], he told me to ask the governor. So I moved the privilege motion.”
Bedi, however, intervened and cancelled the transfer order. She then sent a message to the speaker saying that the official should be given an opportunity to present his case before any action is taken against him. Her secretary Theva Neethi Dhas wrote to the chief secretary, saying Chandrasekaran should not be transferred without the governor’s approval.
On May 31, Bedi made a surprise visit to CENTAC (Centralised Admission Committee) after receiving complaints that private medical colleges were refusing to fill seats under the government quota in accordance with the Supreme Court-approved fee structure. In a video that went viral, Bedi is seen lambasting CENTAC officials for failing to implement government orders. “You shall be placed under suspension,” she is heard saying. “You go to the court and get yourself reinstated.”
Though her decision to intervene in the admission procedure won her public support, the state government took exception to it. “The governor ordered CENTAC convener to issue offer letters to some students by making an allegation that [seats under] the Puducherry government quota have been given away to private managements,” said Narayanasamy in the assembly. “As per the Union government and MCI [Medical Council of India] guidelines, the seats that are not utilised have to be offered to all-India students. We have no choice in the matter; all over the country, the same practice is followed.”
With the controversy related to the nominated MLAs, the relations between Raj Nivas and the state government have hit a new low. But the state government cannot afford to escalate the fight. Bedi’s social media presence and well-publicised cycle rallies have made her extremely popular. In fact, women are often seen making a beeline to make representations regarding issues in their constituencies.
“Governors or IAS officers cannot dictate terms to an elected government,” said political analyst Ramasubramanian. “The lieutenant governor can call the CM and ask for explanations. But convening a meeting of department secretaries and asking them to modify government schemes is wrong…. It is crystal clear that [Bedi] is intruding in the domain of administration.”
