Closure sick textile mills in Puducherry: CM accuses Bedi of marring govt's image

After the closure of the century-old AFT Mill, the Swadeshi Cotton Mills and the Sri Bharathi Mills have been now shut down following her 'intervention', he claimed. As far as his government was concerned, it was firm on not closing any textile unit, he said.

Chief Minister of Puducherry V Narayanasamy on Wednesday alleged that Lieutenant Governor Kiran Bedi has been ordering the closure of major government-run textile units in the union territory, thereby "causing hardship" to workers. After the closure of the century-old AFT Mill, the Swadeshi Cotton Mills and the Sri Bharathi Mills have been now shut down following her 'intervention', he claimed.

As far as his government was concerned, it was firm on not closing any textile unit, he said. "We have been going ahead with steps to rehabilitate the mills and protect the workers particularly during the current pandemic," he told reporters here.

But, the Lieutenant Governor intervened and 'intimidated' the officials to order the closure of the AFT Mill as also the Swadeshi Cotton Mills and Sri Bharathi Mills, he alleged. The administration has cited mounting losses of the three mills as the reason for their closure.

The Industries department decided on the closure under the Industrial Disputes Act 1947 in view of the rising losses. An official source said funds were not available to meet the routine commitments, including payment of wages, of the mills and a report of an expert body had suggested the closure of the undertakings.

Narayanasamy, who has been at loggerheads with Bedi over various issues, accused her of being "anti-people and anti-workers", bringing disrepute to the Congress-DMK coalition government on several issues. She has also been hindering sanction of grants to the government-aided private schools and disbursement of salaries to the teachers, he said. "There is hardly any matter where there is no intervention by the Lieutenant Governor... She is functioning with an agenda to tarnish the image of the territorial government," he charged.

Although several representations had been made to the Centre against the style of Bedi's functioning, nothing has happened so far.