Silence descends on Raj Nivas

A day after his sacking, Kataria refuses to entertain visitors or talk to the media

July 13, 2014 11:29 am | Updated 11:29 am IST - PUDUCHERRY:

In contrast to the everyday bustle inside the Raj Nivas and in front of it these days, as various outfits launched protests to demand the ouster of the incumbent, silence descended on the gubernatorial office a day after the President ordered the sacking of Puducherry Lieutenant-Governor Virendra Kataria.

Mr. Kataria, a Congress veteran and former Rajya Sabha member, had taken over as the 21st Lieutenant-Governor in July 2013, and had a full four years to go when the sacking order came.

Lt. General (Retd.) Ajay Kumar Singh, Lieutenant Governor of Andaman and Nicobar islands, has been given the additional charge of Puducherry.

On Saturday, sources said, Mr. Kataria was in office by 11 a.m., though all through the day he refused to entertain visitors or media requests for his reaction.

For the better part of his one-year stint, Mr. Kataria, 81, was embroiled in a bitter battle with the AINRC-led government of Chief Minister N. Rangasamy.

The Lieutenant-Governor, whose office has significant powers, had on several occasions refused to clear government decisions with which he was not entirely satisfied.

As the rift deepened, the Chief Minister chose a public function at Karaikal in January to mount a scathing attack on the Governor, accusing him of sidelining a democratically elected government and acting arbitrarily.

So, quite expectedly, the AINRC was quick to sharpen its knives once its political ally, the BJP, swept to power at the Centre, and began to raise a clamour for the recall of the Governor.

Mr. Rangasamy also saw in reviving the demand for statehood for the Union Territory a lasting solution to this clash of governance — which some believe had delayed important development projects in the region.

Though not stated so officially, the Government-Governor rift is likely to have figured at discussions that both Mr. Rangasamy and Mr. Kataria had with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh in Delhi, shortly after the new government took over.

Even though Mr. Kataria was at odds with the government on many occasions, he had recently approved the government’s decision to appeal against the acquittal of Kanchi Sankaracharya Jeyandra Saraswati and 23 others in the Sankararaman murder case.

M. Vishweswaran, president of the BJP in Puducherry, which had been the most vociferous in demanding the Governor’s ouster, even sending a delegation to Delhi, described the removal as a “great victory for the public who elected a government.”

“While Mr. Kataria was in the post, he acted against the government elected by the people. His removal has saved democracy,” he said.

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