Puducherry CM says no to Bedi's invite for meeting, continues

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The dharna by Chief Minister V Narayanasamy against Lt Governor Kiran Bedi outside the Raj Nivas here entered the third day Friday with the former virtually rejecting her invitation for a meeting on February 21 over his demand seeking clearance of 39 government proposals.

Besides Narayanasamy, 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.

"There is absolutely no need for any such meeting. We have placed before her all our proposals and she is quite aware of them," the chief minister told reporters.

Narayanasamy, who has been accusing Bedi of bypassing the elected government, was responding to a question whether he would turn up for the meeting the Lt Governor had scheduled with him at Raj Nivas on February 21 to sort out the issues cited by him for undertaking the dharna.

After making the offer for talks in a letter to Narayanasamy, Bedi, a former IPS officer, had left for New Delhi Thursday and would be back on February 20.

Narayanasamy has been insisting that he would not end the dharna till at least some of the proposals were cleared by Bedi.

A large number of Rapid Action Force personnel have been deployed in and around the protest venue.

Narayanasamy contended the Lt Governor was aware of all the proposals the government had submitted for her approval and they all are related to welfare schemes, including distribution of free rice and sanctioning of funds for payment of wages to workers in government undertakings.

"In all, 39 proposals were submitted to her (Bedi) for approval. Let her at least give her nod to some of the important proposals which include free rice scheme and grants for the public sector undertakings," he said.

Narayanasamy also accused the Centre of using the Lt Governor as a "pawn" to embarrass the elected government in the union territory.

During the day, AICC secretary Sanjay Dutt, in-charge of party affairs in Puducherry, visited Narayanasamy and alleged that Bedi had been 'impeding' the implementation of the welfare measures evolved by the elected government and was a "publicity monger".

Asserting that the Congress would come back to power at the Centre in the coming Lok Sabha elections, he said Bedi would be "replaced in the larger interest of development of Puducherry."