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Kiran Bedi removed as LG of Puducherry

CHENNAI: After a prolonged tussle with Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanasamy, Lieutenant Governor Dr Kiran Bedi was today removed from her post by the President and the present Telangana Governor Dr Tamilisai Soundararajan was given additional charge in her place.

A statement by Ajay Kumar Singh, Press Secretary to President Ram Nath Kovind said that, "The President has directed that Dr Kiran Bedi shall cease to hold the office of the Lieutenant-Governor of Puducherry and has appointed Dr Tamilisai Soundararajan, Governor of Telangana, to discharge the functions of the Lieutenant-Governor of Puducherry, in addition to her own duties."

Bedi took oath as the LG of Puducherry in May 2016, and from the very first day she made it clear that she would be more than just a figure head when she broke convention by addressing the gathering at the oath ceremony.

She had said that she was there 'on a mission to make the UT a prosperous Puducherry, however it did not go down well with the ruling Congress-led Secular Democratic Alliance (SDA) government.

Ever since Bedi, and Narayanasamy had been at loggerheads over various issues and the CM had complained about her to the President several times over the years. He had criticized Bedi as being 'autocratic' running a 'tughlaq durbar' and was interfering in the administration, besides 'impeding' the implementation of various proposals of the elected government.

The SDA had staged a four day agitation in the Union Territory from January 8, demanding recall of Bedi in front of the Raj Niwas and later near the Anna square besides going on a day-long hunger strike on February 5 on the issue. On February 10, the CM had submitted a memorandum to President Ram Nath Kovind urging him to recall Bedi immediately.

In fact the SDA government had called for a bandh today to urge the Centre to recall Bedi however it was called off on the request of various traders and merchants associations. 

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