The CPI (M) on Tuesday demanded that Puducherry Lt Governor Kiran Bedi be removed from her post for attending the ‘Kreedotsav’, the sports festival at the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) backed Sri Rama Vidya kendra High School that made students reenact the demolition of the Babri Masjid.

CPI (M) politburo member Brinda Karat told reporters, “After the Supreme Court’s Ayodhya verdict in which the apex court said the Babri demolition was a grossly illegal act, for Kiran Bedi to attend such a function in a school run by the RSS is outrageous and atrocious.”

“She has no right to remain in post of governor and should be dismissed forthwith”, Karat added.

Kiran Bedi had attended the event along with Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers D V Sadananda Gowda. Gowda has claimed that he was not present at the event when the play was being performed. Bedi had tweeted about the event with a video showing the kids come together in the formation of a Ram temple.

Yesterday, the police had booked four people including Kalladka Prabhakar Bhat, the Chairman of the school, the President, Convenor and a member of the school under Sections 295A and 298 of the Indian Penal Code for engaging in deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings and wound the religious feelings of any person.

The demolition of the Babri Masjid, that was held to be a criminal act by the Supreme Court, was reenacted by the students of the school. They were shown to be building a huge Ram temple after the demolition.

Kalladka Prabhakar Bhat is an RSS strongman and south-central region’s executive committee member. He has been booked for being a repeat hate speech offender and has gone on record to say that he doesn’t agree with the decision of the court (that the demolition was a criminal act) and that there was nothing wrong in showcasing what was a ‘historical event’.

Related:

RSS school’s sports event shows kids enact demolition of Babri Masjid
Ayodhya Verdict: Has Faith Prevailed Over Justice?
Kalladka Prabhakar Bhat booked for Babri Masjid demolition play in school         

The post Dismiss Kiran Bedi for attending function showing Babri demolition re-enactment: CPI (M) appeared first on SabrangIndia.

 
Chennai: Puducherry’s Lt Governor Kiran Bedi cannot interfere with the daily functioning of the government in the Union territory, the Madras High Court said on Tuesday.
 
The court said that “Bedi does not have to power to call for files and give orders to the officials”, news agency IANS reported.
 
Kiran Bedi has been engaged in a tussle with Puducherry chief Minister V Narayanasamy since she assumed office in May 2016.
 
The high court’s order came on a writ petition filed by Puducherry Congress MLA Lakshminarayanan in 2017 questioning the LG’s powers to interfere in day-to-day administration despite the presence of a council of ministers.
 
Allowing a request by Congress legislator K Lakshminarayanan, the Madurai bench of the high court ruled that the elected government has powers over service matters and cancelled two clarification orders by the centre in 2017 on the powers of the Lieutenant Governor. The Lieutenant Governor also doesn’t have the right to seek any government documents from the Puducherry government, the high court said.
 
Puducherry had witnessed unprecedented protest in February this year with CM V Narayanasamy launching an indefinite dharna against alleged interference by Lt Governor Kiran Bedi.
 
Welcoming the HC order, Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanasamy said the judgment clearly shows that all powers regarding the administration are with the democratically elected government.
 
Meanwhile, Kiran Bedi told India Today TV that she will take a decision after examining the judgment.
 
“This is a historic judgment and a victory of the people of Puducherry. Development of Puducherry was hindered for the last three years because of the arrogant attitude of the LG,” the Puducherry chief minister added.
 
V Narayanasamy said if the LG doesn’t follow the court order, a contempt petition will be filed against her.
 
He had earlier accused Kiran Bedi of working on orders of the Centre to disrupt the functioning of his government.
 
“She has no power at all, she has to only be a post office and sign papers which have been sent by the council of ministers. She has no right to touch cabinet decisions…she is vetoing decisions. She is being encouraged by the PM to create problems for our government,” he had said.
 
Kiran Bedi had replied, “Sad to see when a CM sends a letter to Lt Governor and within a week demands a reply by force of a ‘dharna’/ blockade of Raj Nivas. Also makes unfounded allegations, misleading people in Puducherry.”
 
She denied all allegations levelled against her and claimed that she had been functioning in terms of the powers conferred on her under the Government of Union Territories Act of 1963.
 
Trouble began when the former IPS officer created a WhatsApp group and started giving orders to the police. She regularly inspected government projects too.
 
She also took on the Puducherry assembly speaker by swearing in three BJP candidates as legislators nominated by the centre. The speaker had refused to let them in the assembly until the Supreme Court approved her action, NDTV reported.
 
However, Kiran Bedi has denied these allegations, saying she goes by the rule book and that she will not be a “rubber stamp” Lieutenant Governor, the report said.
 

The post Madras HC curtails Kiran Bedi’s power, tells her she can’t interfere with Puducherry’s govt appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Lt Governor Pondicherry has done it again. Fairly controversial since she was ‘awarded’ the plum appointment by the Modi regime, she has now invited the ire of Dalit groups , outraged had her attitude towards them.

The Hindu reports that this war of words between Lieutenant Governor Kiran Bedi and Social Welfare Minister M. Kandasamy has taken a turn for the worse with the Puducherry Dalit Koottamaippu, an umbrella organisation of 53 outfits, deciding to hold a fast on October 11 to protest against the “ill-treatment” meted out to the Minister by the Lt. Governor.

This organisation has decided to organise a hunger strike in front of Head Post Office to condemn the “anti- Dalit” stand of the Lt Governor, said the former legislator and president of Puducherry Dalit Koottamippu, Neela Gangadharan, at a press meet here on Monday.

Mr. Gangadharan said it was at the behest of Dalit outfits that the government decided to construct high-mast lamps in colonies. The Lt. Governor had found fault in spending money from the Adi Dravidar Development Fund for the people.

Bedi Accused of Blocking Schemes

The organisation has also charged the Lt Governor with blocking several programmes for the welfare of Scheduled Castes people, including free education to Dalit students, financial assistance for construction of houses, and waiver of loans taken by farmers from cooperative societies.

“She has insulted the Minister by suggesting he bring his son as an interpreter for discussion at the Raj Nivas,” he said. This was tantamount to mocking the Minister for his lack of knowledge in English, he added.

Ms. Bedi and Mr. Kandasamy have been at loggerheads on several issues such as award of dredging contracts but matters came to a head the other day with the Minister formally expressing his wish to the Chief Minister to stage a protest in New Delhi to protest the alleged interference of the Lt Governor in governance which was disrupting implementation of welfare measures for the underprivileged sections.

Ms. Bedi responded by inviting Mr Kandasamy to Raj Nivas for discussing issues, and even suggesting that before proceeding to New Delhi he would perhaps like to have a look at the charges of corruption in some welfare schemes.

What was, however, deemed offensive was the conclusion of Ms. Bedi’s letter: “You may like to bring your son Mr. Vignesh for interpretation, if needed.”

Ms. Bedi’s remark was instantly interpreted by political circles here as an oblique reference to the Minister’s lack of proficiency in English.

Bedi forced to clarify

However, shortly after drawing criticism for the tone of the letter, Lt. Governor clarified that the Minister had always sought permission to allow him to be accompanied by his son to interpret for him.

“I always respected his request.

“I repeat my invitation to the Minister to come and share his concerns with me so that he can see the material which I have forwarded to the investigating agencies. It will help him defend himself,” she said in a WhatsApp message.

The Minister on his part dared the Lt Governor to forward the material to investigating agencies.

“Why should she show me all the evidences she has gathered? That is not the normal practice. If you have the evidence you should proceed with it,” Mr. Kandasamy said.

The Minister said he was able to communicate without the help of an interpreter even when he met national leaders.

Mr. Kandasamy on Sunday escalated the issue by writing to President Ram Nath Kovind complaining about Ms. Bedi’s allegedly obstructionist style of functioning.

Responding to the development, Ms. Bedi on Monday said she was only trying to protect the interest of people, especially weaker sections of society.

“The fact of the matter, based on evidence, deviations have been found which amount to financial irregularities committed by some department officials under the Minister’s charge,” she said.

The post Dalit Organisations in Pondicherry to Stage Protest Against Kiran Bedi: Hindu appeared first on SabrangIndia.