NE NEWS SERVICE
PUDUCHERRY, NOV 6
Chief Minister of Puducherry V Narayanasamy on Friday asked Lieutenant Governor Kiran Bedi to accept proposals of the territorial government as the repeated rejection of them only creates a bad impression of her among the people.
Addressing a virtual press conference here, he said teachers and retired staff in government-aided private schools have not been paid salaries or given other benefits for the last 11 months. This was because Bedi has not approved the proposals of the government, he said.
Narayanasamy further said a proposal was sent to her for waiver of motor vehicle tax imposed on private taxi owners, vans, omnibuses and other tourist vehicles for the last few months. The vehicle operators could not run the vehicles due to the pandemic situation, he said. Several states had waived the taxes and when the file in this regard was sent to the Lt Governor, she returned it saying she wanted to know as to how much revenue would be lost by the waiver, the Chief Minister said.
The private vehicle owners and taxi operators were now up in arms against the government, the Chief Minister said.
“The Lt Governor is causing law and order problem by her negative stand and by returning the files,” he alleged.
Narayanasamy said he had the impression that the Lt Governor was being misguided and given wrong information by some officials close to her in her office. The Lt Governor should mend her ways and ensure promotion of the welfare of the people in the Union Territory without adopting a negative stand, he said.
The Chief Minister has been at loggerheads with the former IPS officer on administrative and fiscal issues almost constantly since she assumed office in 2016.
