A day after being removed as the lieutenant governor of the Union Territory of Puducherry, Kiran Bedi on Wednesday posted a farewell letter on Twitter thanking the Union government and those she worked with during her stint in what she termed as “a life time experience”.
Reflecting back on her tenure as the lieutenant governor, Bedi wrote: “Whatever was done, was a sacred duty, fulfilling my constitutional and moral responsibilities.”
She asserted that Puducherry had a bright future and it was “now in the hands of the people”.
In another short video that Bedi posted on Wednesday morning, she read out a quote she found on the cover of her diary, which read: “Kind heart, fierce mind, brave spirit”.
Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanasamy had been demanding Bedi’s removal, saying that she was not allowing the elected government to function by interfering in the day-to-day administration. He had started a sit-in protest in January.
Bedi, 71, was removed on Tuesday late evening amid a political turmoil in Puducherry that saw the ruling Congress government being reduced to a minority one, following the resignation of four of its MLAs. Congress legislator A John Kumar became the latest one to resign on Tuesday, following Malladi Krishna Rao who quit on Monday. Two others, A Namassivayam and E Theeppainjan, had resigned in January.
Following the development, both the ruling coalition of Congress and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the Opposition combine of Bharatiya Janata Party and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam have 14 MLAs each in the 33-member House, according to The Indian Express.
However, Narayanasamy was confident of persuading two of the MLAs to stay back and asserted that his government was not in minority, while speaking in an interview to NDTV. He accused the BJP of trying to plan an “Operation Kamal (lotus)” – a term used by Congress and other Opposition parties to refer to the the saffron party’s attempts at effecting defections.
The chief minister also said that Rao’s resignation was because of Bedi. “He was agitated because Kiran Bedi was blocking all his projects,” he told NDTV. “He is still with me. I am confident I can persuade him.”
The Opposition has, meanwhile, demanded a floor test in the Assembly, even as it was not clear if they were in a position to form a government either. The Union Territory is scheduled to go to polls later this year.
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