On February 10, people of Puducherry were taken by surprise when Lt Governor Kiran Bedi took to streets to stop two-wheeler riders and advise them to follow the road rules and wear helmet. The policemen had a tough time moving around with the governor and making the two-wheeler riders obey the traffic rules.
However, a day later, Bedi’s gesture came under attack from the cabinet with Chief Minister V. Narayanasamy staging a dharna in front of Raj Nivas.
“The governor is meddling in the day-to-day administrative affairs of the government. We are now protesting against the forceful implementation of the helmet rule in the state,” said Narayanasamy who was seen clad in a black shirt and black dhoti.
Raising slogans against Kiran Bedi, PCC president and PWD minister A. Namasivayam, along with the entire cabinet, was present in front of Raj Nivas in support of Narayanasamy.
“The governor is abusing her power and position. She took a unilateral decision on implementing the compulsory helmet rule. She has gone to the extent of threatening officials with dire consequences if they do not implement the helmet rule,” Narayanasamy said. The chief minister also alleged that the governor was sitting on 39 important files.
A day after Bedi implemented the new helmet rule, Narayanasamy was seen holding a meeting with Territorial Director General of Police S. Sundari Nanda and Transport Secretary H.P.S. Sran. He said the new rule “will go slow” on people of Puducherry and added the officials will create awareness on wearing helmet.
It is not the first time the chief minister and the governor have crossed swords in the union territory. In April 2017, the governor landed in a major controversy when she said that the free rice distribution would be conditional to the certification of the village being open defecation free. However Bedi took back the order within days as it drew flak from the legislators. Besides this, Bedi’s nomination of MLAs had also triggered a row.
