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On the evening of 16 February, Kiran Bedi, Lieutenant Governor (L-G) of Puducherry, attended a telephonic briefing from health officials on COVID-19 vaccination strategy. In the virtual meeting, Bedi was her usual self – curt to subordinate officers, even asking them to report back to her with “a timetable” for the vaccine drive.
Nothing seemed amiss till the President of India issued an order recalling her from office, late on Tuesday night. Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan was given the additional charge of L-G Puducherry.
But what led to Bedi’s sudden recall?
“She plays by the book and is unilateral. That is how she made the functioning of the ruling government a living nightmare for so long. Now, with the Assembly elections coming up, the BJP does not need a bookkeeper and an authoritarian chief at the helm. They need someone who can play with rules,” said a senior Congress leader in the V Narayanasamy government, on condition of anonymity.
In Puducherry, the Congress with 14 MLAs, the DMK with 3 MLAs, and an Independent MLA had formed the government in 2016. In the Opposition were the NR Congress with seven MLAs and the AIADMK with four MLAs.
Bedi as L-G then nominated three members of the BJP to the House, increasing its strength from 30 to 33 members.
Now, with four MLAs of the Congress resigning from the party, both the ruling alliance and the Opposition have 14 MLAs each. Narayanasamy has, however, expressed confidence that he will prove majority in the House.
In a country where ruling governments often use the constitutional post of the governor to do their bidding, the BJP’s nomination of Bedi to the L-G post did rake in some returns for the party.
“She had refused to sign off on several files because she did not want the government to bank on welfare measures. The Union Territory’s welfare funding was severely affected during the last four years,” a source in the DMK told The Quint. Bedi also actively promulgated new laws without the approval of the ruling government.
Bedi’s actions not only inconvenienced the government, but also failed to capture public support. “People of Puducherry mostly looked at her as an outsider,” a Tamil Nadu-based journalist told The Quint.
Adding to the mix is the Tamil sentiment in the state which, too, worked against her.
“Tamilisai Soundararajan is a Tamil woman. She is from the Nadar caste and she is amicable when compared to Bedi,” the Tamil Nadu-based journalist said.
Soundararajan would only be an “asset” for the BJP whereas Bedi a “liability,” he added.
CM Narayanasamy capitalised on the public dissatisfaction against Bedi by portraying her as the only reason for his government’s shortcomings. After staging several protests against Bedi, on 10 February, Narayanasamy even wrote to President Ram Nath Kovind, urging him to recall her. The chief minister also met the President to submit his petition.
The reason for Bedi’s removal, however, has more to do with her personality than with the Congress’ battles with her. Her style of functioning was “so unilateral and authoritarian” that even the BJP did not trust her to “follow instructions” anymore, the senior Congress leader said.
If Narayanasamy fails to prove majority, the L-G may have to allow the Opposition to form the government.
And the BJP-NR Congress-AIADMK alliance would want to assume power even if it is for a few days before the Assembly elections get notified.
“This would help them to claim during their campaign that the Congress-DMK alliance is unstable,” a source said.
Besides, Bedi had not succeeded in winning over the confidence of MLAs. Four MLAs, who resigned from the Congress, too, had asked the BJP for her removal, the political observer said.
“It’s a clear warning. The BJP wants her to be a team player. She may get another chance,” a regional leader of the BJP, who did not want to be named, said.
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