Contempt of court petition against Bedi soon: Pondy CM

Chief Minister of Puducherry and senior Congress leader V Narayanasamy on Sunday said he would soon move soon against the Territorial Lieutenant Governor Kiran Bedi for allegedly impeding implementation of decisions of the elected government constantly.

He told reporters at his residence here that Bedi has been blocking several welfare schemes despite the order of the Madras High Court issued on April 30 this year that she should not interfere in the functioning of the government.

The court had issued the order in a petition filed by Parliamentary Secretary to the Chief Minister seeking to curtail the interference by Bedi. Narayanasamy said he had decided to post an official as an Election Commissioner for the Union Territory, but Bedi had even questioned this decision.

"She (Bedi) does not know the administrative procedures and has been rejecting every decision of the territorial cabinet," he said. Therefore, he said he would file a contempt of court petition for interfering in routine governance here. Narayanasamy further alleged that the Centre was delaying compensation of Rs 400 crore to Puducherry due since August for the loss arising out of implementation of the GST here.

"The territorial government is already hard-pressed for funds and delay in availability of compensation by the Centre was aggravating the fiscal situation," he added.