Bad optics apart, the power struggle between Lieutenant Governor Kiran Bedi and the elected Ministry led by V. Narayanasamy has set off fears that a prolonged tiff could lead to an administrative impasse in the Union Territory.
While the constitutional provisions relating to the powers and functions of the Lt. Governor and the Chief Minister have more or less remained the same over decades, the relations between the Raj Nivas and the Assembly on one hand and the Secretariat on the other hand have been dictated more by the occupants of high office, especially on how judiciously, or not, the Constitutional heads had used the considerable powers at their command. Although most of the times, Congress regimes have ruled simultaneously at the Centre and the State, the history of feuding constitutional authorities, which has often caught the bureaucracy in crossfire, has a chequered past in the Union Territory.
It all started in 1974
The first instance of a spat that spilled into the open is believed to have been in 1974 when S. Ramasamy was heading a short-lived coalition government of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and Communist Party of India with Chhedi Lal as the Lieutenant Governor. Irked over the announcement of welfare measures by Mr. Lal during a visit to a village at Kalapet, Mr. Ramasamy came out against the Lieutenant Governor for overlooking an elected government.
Even as matters were coming to a head, the Ministry fell and the territory was put under President’s rule which eventually led the Lieutenant Governor to adopt a hands-down approach to the administration of UT. Chhedi Lal is most remembered for bringing about several improvements to the city, especially as the architect in developing the famed Jawaharlal Nehru Street.
The boundary lines separating the powers and functions of the constitutional heads was breached again in 1991 when the present Speaker V. Vaithilingam was heading a Congress government while M. Chenna Reddy was holding additional charge of the Lieutenant Governor. The differences came out in the open when Mr. Vaithilingam took the floor of the Assembly to criticise Mr. Reddy for interfering in the affairs of an elected government.
Kataria-Rangasamy regime
A turf war played out when Virendra Kataria was the Lieutenant Governor and N. Rangasamy was heading the previous AINRC government. The relations between Mr. Kataria and Mr. Rangasamy, which remained cordial in the beginning, took a turn for the worse. The relations soured in the backdrop of the alleged failure of the Government to maintain law and order following reports of extortion by anti-social elements from the fortified walls of the Central Prison in Kalapet.
The Lieutenant Governor visited traders affected by the extortion racket and even went on record that effective action should have been taken to ensure peace and law and order.
He visited the Central Prison and ordered the removal of mobile phone towers in the vicinity as they were interfering with jammers installed in the prison.
The fact that Mr. Kataria and Mr. Rangasamy locked horns came to light when there was open criticism of the working of the Rangasamy administration. Mr. Kataria was sacked soon after the NDA government came to power at the Centre in 2014.
A.K. Singh, the administrator of Andaman and Nicobar Islands was given additional charge of the after Mr. Kataria was replaced. Mr. Singh wanted the government machinery to function properly and paid field visits to ascertain the implementation of welfare schemes. But there was no serious turf war between Mr. Singh and the Ministry. He functioned within his limits without provoking any section.
A shining example
A noteworthy example of harmonious ties between the representative of a non-Congress regime at the Centre and a Congress Ministry in the UT was when Atal Bihari Vajpayee was heading the National Democratic Alliance government and Mr. Rangasamy was heading the Congress government. K.R. Malkani, one of the founders of Bharatiya Janata Party, was deputed as Lieutenant Governor.
“He gently and politely used to pull up elected representatives as well as officials for wrong-doings. He was open to ideas and gave due respect to the elected representatives. He remained as a guiding and father figure during his tenure,” a former bureaucrat told The Hindu .
