As the Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry, Dr. Kiran Bedi was removed, while the Governor of Telangana, Dr. Tamilisai Soundararajan, was given an additional charge as Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry. The development occurred on the day when, after one more legislator resigned, the Congress-led government in the Union Territory slipped into a minority, reducing its tally in the assembly.
Kiran Bedi will cease holding the office of Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry, a spokesperson for Rashtrapati Bhavan said Tuesday night.
The President instructed Dr. Kiran Bedi to cease holding the office of Lieutenant-Governor of Puducherry and appointed Dr. Kiran Bedi as Lieutenant-Governor of Puducherry.
In a statement, Tamilisai Soundararajan, Governor of Telangana, to discharge the duties of the Lieutenant-Governor of Puducherry, in addition to her own duties, with effect from the date on which she takes charge of her office until regular arrangements are made for the office of Lieutenant-Governor of Puducherry, said Ajay Kumar Singh, the President’s press secretary.
Puducherry CM V Narayanasamy said, “Due to pressure from us, Dr Kiran Bedi has been removed by the Government of India.”For the people of Puducherry, this is a big victory. By her attitude of blocking welfare schemes, she hampered the growth here.
Earlier in the day, with another ruling party legislator resigning on Tuesday, the Congress government lost its majority in the union territory, reducing the party-led alliance figures to 14 in the assembly with an effective strength of 28.
On Tuesday, John Kumar resigned from his MLA and party position, becoming the fourth legislator since last month to leave the assembly, dealing a blow ahead of the elections.
The simple majority with reduced strength in the assembly is 15. In April, polls are likely and the House’s term ends on June 8, 2021.
The development came one day ahead of the visit of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to union territory to launch the campaign of the party.
Position of the party in the assembly as of Tuesday: Congress (ten), DMK three, All-India NR Congress seven, AIADMK four, BJP three (all nominated and voting) and one independent.
Four MLAs in Congress resigned while a member was disqualified.
BJP national chief J P Nadda slammed Congress for alleged rampant corruption last month, addressing a poll rally here, and vowed to capture power in the union territory by winning 23 plus seats out of the 30.
On Monday, Malladi Krishna Rao, also a minister, resigned from the government as well as from the MLA. In July last year, Congress MLA N Dhanavelou was disqualified for alleged anti-party activities. A scathing attack on Narayanasamy had been mounted by Namassivayam, accusing him of suppressing senior officials.
“All our legislators are united. The opposition’s demand for the resignation of the government is not genuine…We will operate in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution,” he told the media.
Flanked by the leadership of AIADMK and BJP (the two sides were allies of AINRC in previous polls), Rangasamy said that if the government did not resign, his party would move forward with its action plan to press for its removal.
AIADMK legislature party leader A Anbalagan told PTI that he agreed with Rangasamy and said that without any further loss of time, the Chief Minister should quit.
Speaker V P Sivakolundhu was called to his office by John Kumar and handed over his handwritten letter of resignation.
The Speaker accepted Kumar and Rao’s resignations, sources in the Assembly said. In 2016, Congress gained 15 assembly seats.
