Narayanasamy to meet President to seek recall of Kiran Bedi

Puducherry Chief Minister VNarayanasamy on Tuesday left for Delhi, accompanied by a threemember delegation, to meet the President to seek recall of LtGovernor Kiran Bedi, for allegedly impeding implementation ofvarious decisions of the elected government here.

The CM was accompanied by Welfare Minister M Kandasamy,Health Minister Malladi Krishna Rao and lone member fromPuducherry in Lok Sabha V Vaithilingam, sources said.

They left for the national capital from Chennai.

The delegation, the sources said, would submit documentscontaining signatures collected from the people in the lasttwo weeks, urging the Centre to replace Kiran Bedi.

The ruling Congress led Secular Democratic Alliance hadgone on a four day agitation here from January 8, demandingrecall of Bedi.

The Chief Minister, who took part in the agitation, hadalleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bedi ''hatched aconspiracy to dismantle the separate status of Puducherry bymerging it with Tamil Nadu.'' He had also accused the PM and Bedi of being keen ondepriving the people of Puducherry of their rights.

The SDA, barring the DMK, had gone on a day long fasthere on February 5, demanding recall of Lieutenant GovernorKiran Bedi.

The alliance also proposes to observe a bandh here onFebruary 16 to press for their demand.

Bedi, a former IPS officer, and Narayanasamy have been atlogger heads over various issues ever since she was appointedthe Lt Governor in May 2016 with the ruling Congress accusingher of going against decisions of the government.

The Congress had in December, 2019 written to PresidentRam Nath Kovind seeking the recall of Bedi, who has maintainedthat being the Administrator of the Union Territory she wasonly discharging her duties as per law.