Minister to take legal action against Bedi over govt schemes

Puducherry Minister Malladi Krishna Rao on Friday said he would take legal action against

Lieutenant Governor Kiran Bedi for allegedly interrupting implementation of developmental schemes, a charge denied

vehemently by her. Addressing reporters here, the Minister of Health and

Tourism accused Bedi of intimidating IAS officers, particularly Tamil IAS officers.

Referring to the recent findings of the CBI that none of the six officers of the territorial administration had

committed any wrong in the selection and admission of students to privately managed medical colleges in 2017, he said, "The

six had suffered mental agony because of the allegations the Lieutenant Governor had made against them to the CBI through

the Medical Council of India. "What is her answer to the harassment the officers had

suffered because of her authoritative stance," he asked. Bedi had also sent allegedly adverse reports against

'honest' officers to the Union Home Ministry, he said without disclosing their names.

Rao said his departments were not able to implement any centrally sponsored schemes or schemes evolved by the

territorial government because of the alleged intervention of Bedi.

"I will never compromise and I have seen several Kiran Bedis in my career and I will file a case against her in

the next one week to bring justice to the people and to ensure Bedi's intervention does not continue," Rao said.

He said the private medical colleges have been earmarking seats under government quota every year only

through the negotiations the government was holding with the managements.

"We will now pass a Bill in the forthcoming budget session of the assembly to specifically direct the medical

colleges to earmark 50 per cent of the total seats in MBBS to government sponsored students and no medical college could

play hide-and-seek game," he said. The Bill had been prepared and after a cabinet

approval the Bill would be adopted in the House which is likely to have the budget session in the last week of March or

early April. He said Bedi has been approaching the government

departments in the Central government asking them not to clear any grants for Puducherry.

"Should this be the style of functioning of a Lieutenant Governor," he asked. He said Bedi was rejected by

the people in the Assembly polls in 2016 in New Delhi and was later appointed to the gubernatorial post.

"We are elected by the people and hence the attitude of overbearing on her part would end in a fiasco," he said

adding that the Rs 137.28-crore Flood Wall and Soil Erosion Scheme for Yanam had also been stalled by the Lieutenant

Governor without any justification. Reacting to the Minister's allegations, Bedi dubbed

them as false and said it was a clear case of spreading misinformation.

On the charge that she was blocking implementation of various schemes ever since she assumed office in 2016 and that

he would launch legal action against her, the former IPS officer said she was not blocking any financially sound and

professionally vetted proposals. Also, she brushed aside as "another instance of

misinformation and false propaganda" the Minister`s allegation that she had been threatening IAS officers particularly Tamil

IAS officers by telling them that they would face CBI probe. However, she welcomed the announcement of the Health

Minister that a Bill would be adopted on the floor of the House in the forthcoming budget session for mandatory

allocation of 50 per cent of the total seats in MBBS for government sponsored candidates in private medical colleges.

PTI COR NVG NVG

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)