Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will visit Puducherry on Monday to meet Chief Minister V Narayanasamy who is sitting on ‘Dharna’ against Lt. Governor Kiran Bedi outside her Residence Raj Niwas since Wednesday last week.
Besides Chief Minister, his ministerial colleagues and MLAs of the ruling Congress and its ally DMK are staging the dharna accusing Bedi of adopting a “negative stand” towards the proposals, including a free rice scheme, awaiting her approval. The Dharna led by Chief Minister on Sunday entered the fifth day with Narayanasamy declined to meet Bedi after she said to meet him on Feb 21.
A senior Delhi government official said Arvind Kejriwal, accompanied by his deputy Manish Sisodia, will meet the Puducherry chief minister at the protest venue around 12 noon Monday.
Earlier Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday called his Puducherry counterpart and extended his support. Kejriwal in a tweet later also extended his support. He said, ‘The people of Delhi are in complete solidarity wid the people of Puducherry. Why r(are) the people of Delhi and Puducherry being denied democracy even 70 yrs after independence?’
The people of Delhi are in complete solidarity wid the people of Puducherry. Why r the people of Delhi and Puducherry being denied democracy even 70 yrs after independence? https://t.co/ZMTBrQbG3V
— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) February 16, 2019
Aam Aadmi Party through its Official Twitter handle also extended Solidarity and raised questions on the ‘tyranny of the unelected’. ‘Be it Delhi or Puducherry, tyranny of the unelected over the elected is unacceptable in a democracy. Our stand won’t change from state to state. Delhi CM @ArvindKejriwal and Dy CM @msisodia to visit Puducherry tomorrow in support of Puducherry CM @VNarayanasami #SaveDemocracy’,party said in a tweet.
Be it Delhi or Puducherry, tyranny of the unelected over the elected is unacceptable in democracy. Our stand won't change from state to state.
Delhi CM @ArvindKejriwal and Dy CM @msisodia to visit Puducherry tomorrow in support of Puducherry CM @VNarayanasami#SaveDemocracy pic.twitter.com/I6SeEy3j0E
— AAP (@AamAadmiParty) February 17, 2019
Chief Minister Narayanasamy has accused Lt. Governor Kiran Bedi of not approving his government’s 39 proposals for welfare schemes, including a free rice scheme, and on administrative matters.
Chief Minister Narayanasamy had led an agitation in front of the Parliament on January 4, demanding that the Centre sanction statehood for Puducherry and replace Kiran Bedi as the Lt Governor.
The Lt Governor and the government headed by Narayanasamy had been at loggerheads over various issues ever since Bedi assumed office in May 2016.
Notably, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had faced similar power tussle in Delhi with Lt. Governors since AAP stormed to power in 2015 in National Capital. The Top Court had recently announced its verdict on various issues.
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