Halt Puducherry turf war

The actions of both lieutenant-governor Kiran Bedi and Chief Minister Narayanasamy in Puducherry aren’t in keeping with their high offices. The CM, elected by the Assembly, was on dharna, sleeping outside the gates of Raj Nivas overnight to highlight “undemocratic governance” there. He claims many decisions by his Cabinet, including on welfare measures like PDS rice, weren’t being approved by Ms Bedi. On her part, Ms Bedi has been out on the streets like a traffic cop asking the police to enforce the helmet rule.

It’s clear that in delaying sanctioning of schemes or ratifying the Cabinet’s decisions, the lieutenant-governor may be acting under extraneous considerations. She may be right over the helmet rule being a measure that saves lives, but that doesn’t mean she has to take a confrontational path with the elected government over its non-enforcement. The government, on its part, is acting as if it were cutting its nose to spite its face. It would be best if the two top figures in the UT administration sort out issues between themselves and not stay locked in permanent combat.