Puducherry Chief Minister V. Narayanasamy on Friday said that relations between him and Lieutenant Governor Kiran Bedi remained cordial.
Addressing journalists at the TNCC headquarters here on his return from New Delhi, where he met Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Mr. Narayanasamy denied that there was any rift between him and Ms. Bedi.
“Relations between us remain cordial; both of us work within the framework of the Constitution,” he said.
Mr. Narayanasamy also seemed to suggest that Ms. Bedi is bound to act on the decisions of his Cabinet. He said that the Lieutenant Governor may have taken decisions of her own ahead of Cabinet formation but is bound by the decisions of the government.
“The Constitution says that the Governor will receive aid and advice from Council of Ministers. The Lieutenant Governor has to sign on files sent by us,” he said. Mr. Narayanasamy said that unlike Delhi, the Puducherry government had domain over land, law and order and personnel.
Choice of constituency
When asked about his choice of constituency for a bye-election – Mr. Narayanasamy did not contest the recent Assembly elections – he said that he will obey the instructions from the Congress leadership.
The Chief Minister said he had discussed with the Prime Minister and Home Minister about the financial needs of Puducherry. “
We have asked for the waiver of a Rs. 2,177 crore legacy loan and a return of the Rs. 1,300 crore we have paid towards interest,” he said. Among the main demands of the government has been the inclusion of Puducherry in the ambit of the Finance Commission.
“We have been getting a fixed amount of Rs. 600 crore in non-plan grants the last few years but we have demanded Rs. 1,600 crore now,” he said.
Funds for new Assembly
The Chief Minister’s delegation also requested Rs. 500 crore each for the construction of a new Assembly and convention centre. It wants the central government to allocate Rs. 118 crore towards flood relief.
Mr. Narayanasamy also petitioned the Ministry of Home Affairs to expedite a guarantee to the French government over a Rs. 2,100 crore loan for a drinking water and sanitation scheme.
