R ARIVANANTHAM
PUDUCHERRY, JAN 16
“I will demit my office the moment the allegations on land grabbing on me and my son are established,” said Puducherry Chief Minister V. Narayanasamy here on Thursday.
Addressing reporters, the Chief Minister challenged the Lieutenant Governor Kiran Bedi and rebel Congress legislator N. Danavelou to prove their charge that he and his son were involved in land grabbing.
“I will resign the moment the allegations are proved correct. Ms. Bedi and Mr. Danavelou should accept the challenge and publicly state that they would resign from public life if they are not able to establish the charges,” he said along with Minister for Public Works A. Namassivayam.
Flaying the Lt. Governor for stating after meeting Danavelou that the Congress legislator has orally complained about land grabbing by the Chief Minister and his son, Narayanasamy said her decision to brief the media without getting a written complaint or proof showed her lack of administrative experience. She did not even wait for obtaining a written complaint or gathering evidence, he added.
Before going public, Bedi should have waited for a written complaint and forwarded it to the police or Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the Chief Minister said. “Anybody can make any allegation. By making an oral submission public the Lt Governor has tarnished my image. It shows her vengeance against me. Ms. Bedi has been trying her best to collect some evidence against me for the last three and a half years,” he said.
Bedi brought disrepute to the Constitutional position
Her conduct had brought disrepute to the Constitutional position she occupied, the Chief Minister alleged, adding that he had formally complained about Bedi to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah during his recent visit to New Delhi.