Chief Minister V. Narayanasamy has refused to be drawn into the controversy on the registration of a case against a Puducherry Civil Service (PCS) cadre officer on charges of posting an objectionable video clip in a WhatsApp group initiated by Lieutenant Governor Kiran Bedi and his subsequent suspension over the incident.
When reporters sought his reaction to the incident, Mr. Narayanasamy said he would not like to comment on an administrative matter. When pressed further, he said, “Read the Central Civil Services (CCS) rules.”
Mr. Narayanasamy’s reference to CCS rules was construed by many in political circles here as his way of reminding the Lieutenant Governor that certain procedures needed to be followed while taking disciplinary action against an official.
The Chief Minister, it might be recalled, had taken a strong stand earlier against officers forming groups on social media platforms to share information related to administrative matters. A few months after he was sworn-in as Chief Minister, Mr. Narayanasamy had convened a meeting of officers, including PCS staff, to express his displeasure on the use of social media for official communication — a practice initiated by the Lt. Governor.
In fact, he reiterated his stand on Saturday when a group of PCS officers called on him at his chamber to express their anguish over the handling over the incident involving their colleague. “He gave us a patient hearing and told us against the stand he has taken against the use of social media for official communication,” he said.
“I had warned you before,” he had reportedly told the officers at the meeting.
As for Saturday’s incident, the PCS officers are peeved at the way the entire incident was handled by the Lieutenant Governor’s Office and Police Department. Highly placed official sources said a good number of PCS officers had decided to exit from such groups after the Lieutenant Governor failed to give “a satisfactory response” on the entire episode.
“We had sought an appointment with her on Saturday evening and we were asked to reach Raj Nivas at around 6 .p.m and could get a chance to talk to her only by 8. 30 p.m.
“She told us that since the video clip has gone viral, the law will take its course and the suspension will not be revoked,” a PCS officer told on condition of anonymity.
Another PCS officer said “we don’t support the posting of objectionable material. But we tried to convince her that the suspended officer is not a habitual offender nor had made any disrespectful remarks to anyone in the past. The LG made her stand clear that the suspension will not be revoked. We are clear that due process was not applied even in invoking the suspension order,” the officer said.
