Bedi should quit Office AS CENTRE HAS LOST FAITH IN HER: CM

PUDUCHERRY: Chief Minister of Puducherry V Narayanasamy on Monday called upon Lieutenant Governor Kiran Bedi to step down from office as the Centre had allegedly brushed aside her recommendations on certain important issues and approved the decisions of the elected government here.

Addressing reporters, the Chief Minister, who has been at loggerheads with the Lieutenant Governor on various administrative issues ever since she assumed office in 2016, said, "The decisions taken by the goverment to waive loans due from farmers, raise the age-limit from 22 to 24 for recruitment to posts of police constables, setting up of statutory bodies like boards and corporations and also to take action against a school headmaster for irregularity in attendance were rejected by Bedi."

"She (Bedi) forwarded these decisions to the Centre for its clarification and decisions," the

Chief Minister said.

"The Centre had rejected the Lieutenant Governor`s negative stand and our stand on these issues was approved by the Centre," he said.

Narayanasamy further said the Centre had also approved of 'my granting of marks to the senior officers including the then Chief Secretary Manoj Parida and Secretaries P Jawhar and P Anbarasu" under the Annual Confidential Report.

"The Lieutenant Governor had reduced the marks sanctioned by me under the report for these officers, but the Centre upheld the marks I gave to these officers rejecting Kiran Bedi`s slashing the grades," he said.

All this clearly showed that Bedi had lost the Centre`s faith in her and hence 'owning moral responsibility' she should quit office as 'she has no authority or powers to run a parallel government and take a stand contrary' to the decisions of the elected government.