Elected govt supreme

Upholding the supremacy of constitutional principles and parliamentary laws, the Madras High Court has ruled that Puducherry Lt Governor Kiran Bedi cannot interfere in the day-to-day affairs of the Union Territory’s elected government. The judgment is a shot in the arm for the V Narayanasamy-led Congress government, which has been at loggerheads with the ‘NDA appointee’ over the past three years or so. It is another setback to Bedi, India’s first woman IPS officer, who has already burnt her fingers in active politics. She was initially part of Anna Hazare’s agitation, but had later broken ranks with the anti-corruption crusader and joined the ruling BJP. The party’s chief ministerial candidate in the 2015 Delhi Assembly polls, Bedi had not only suffered defeat herself but also witnessed the BJP’s debacle amid a stunning sweep by the Aam Aadmi Party. A year later, she was appointed Lt Governor of Puducherry, days after the Congress won the Assembly elections.

The Centre might have gained the upper hand in its legal battle against the AAP government in Delhi, but the coastal UT had turned out to be a different kettle of fish. Allowing a petition by Congress MLA K Laksminarayanan, the High Court has set aside the two communications, issued in 2017 by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, regarding the administrator’s powers. Referring to the Supreme Court judgment on the tussle between Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Lt Governor Anil Baijal, the judge made it clear that the restrictions imposed on one government (Delhi) were not applicable to another (Puducherry). This distinction is of utmost significance, considering Delhi’s extraordinary position by virtue of being the country’s capital.

The judge also asserted that the decisions taken by the Puducherry Council of Ministers and the Chief Minister were binding on the Secretaries and other officials. The brazen attempt to extrapolate the Delhi model to another non-BJP-ruled territory has been scuttled decisively. The judgment will go a long way in ensuring that the administrator stops short of becoming a parallel power centre and works in tandem with the government democratically elected by the people.