Puducherry LG Kiran Bedi withdraws no rice until ODF order; updates

Bedi's directive on Saturday drew flak from all parties, here is all that you need to know about her statement

Courting controversy from all sides, Puducherry Lt Governor Kiran Bedi withheld her directive within hours on Saturday after she said that territorial government's free rice scheme would be operated in the rural areas once the local MLAs and commune panchayat commissioners certify that the villages are open defecation and garbage free.

Her decision came after her decision drew flak from various parties, who also questioned her way of governance, after which she decided to withhold the order to "avoid misreading of intention".

According to Bedi, who became Lt Governor in May 2016, no local representatives or officials of the departments concerned had made a determined effort to make rural Puducherry clean within a time frame.

Under the free rice scheme, families who come under below poverty line are entitled to get 20 kg rice every month while the ones with yellow cards in the above poverty line are supposed to get 10 kg.

Here are the top developments around Lt Governor Bedi's order in a bid to get the certificate of open defecation free Puducherry:

1: Bedi retracts controversial order: Following her directive to cancel free rice scheme until the hamlets are certified open defecation free and subsequent criticism on her way of governance, Lt Governor Kiran Bedi went ahead and recalled the order in a tweet on Saturday.

Deciding to withhold her decision to "avoid misreading of intention", Bedi in a clarification note to media stated that her intention in linking the rural open defecation and cleanliness to free rice distribution is not to deny any poor persons of their entitlement as she already had sanctioned to provide quality grains to needy families.

"To avoid misreading of this intention and in view of the forthcoming commitment made by the union territory government that villages in Puducherry will achieve Open Defecation Free by June end, I am happy to give them some more time. Therefore I am withholding my earlier communications," she wrote.

2: AAP calls Bedi an agent of BJP: Drawing parallels between L-G Anil Baijal and Kiran Bedi, the Aam Aadmi Party on Saturday alleged that Governors and Lt Governors across the country have been behaving as "BJP agents" ever since the Narendra Modi-government came to power.

"The Puducherry LG seems to be following in the footsteps of what her Delhi counterpart Anil Baijal has been frequently doing. Despite having no power to overrule the elected government according to the Constitution, Mr Baijal in active connivance with the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, is leaving no stone unturned in stalling the flagship schemes of elected Delhi government," AAP said in a statement.

"The absurd and unjustified diktat by the BJP-appointed LG of Puducherry, Kiran Bedi, to suspend free rice distribution to the poor in villages is a clear proof of how decisions of elected governments not belonging to BJP are being brazenly overturned in gross misuse of Constitutional positions," the AAP said, PTI reported.

3: Treading the path of "autocracy": Kiran Bedi's direction also drew flak from AIADMK legislature wing leader A Anbalagan, who told reporters that Bedi was treading the path of 'autocracy' by issuing such directives.

He said it was the duty of municipal bodies and contractors to ensure there was no garbage accumulation. The poor should not be victimised for 'improper functioning' of these agencies entrusted with the scheme, Anbalagan added.

4: M K Stalin opposes Bedi's Swachh Campaign move: DMK working president M K Stalin in his tweet opposed Bedi's order saying "Linking free rice distribution to sanitation goes against the principles of social justice and equality."

"It violates the Constitutional tenets and defeats directive principles regarding nutrition and public health. I urge Kiran Bedi to withdraw this direction immediately," he added, PTI reported.

5: Bedi's observation from weekend visits to villages: In her letter to Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanasamy, she wanted to bring his attention to the poor sanitation condition in the rural pockets of the Union Territory, "which I was a witness to during my 155th weekend visit to Mannadipet village."

She apprised him that she has directed the Director of Civil Supplies in regard to make the hamlets open defecation free.

She said she was anguished to see the 'slow pace' of rural sanitation despite the efforts made to transform the villages into neat and clean village under swachh bharat mission.

The Lt Governor said in rural visits, the community leaders have been "vociferous and proactive," raising various demands.

Bedi, in her communique, said to inculcate a sense of responsibiity amongst the local community, "we require to cast a duty upon the local community for maintenance of their localities clean and healthy."

6: Bedi's bid to get ODF and clean Puduchhery: Lt Governor Kiran Bedi on Saturday after her visits to some villages in a Whatsapp message to the mediapersons expressed her dissatisfaction over the 'slow pace' of implementation of the rural sanitation programme.

"Distribution of free rice to the villagers should be conditional to the certification of the village being open defecation free and free of strewn garbage and plastics," she said, adding that a joint certification given by the local MLA and the Commune panchayat commissioner should be submitted to the Civil Supplies Commissioner.

The former IPS officer gave a May 31 deadline to the authorities to ensure the hamlets are made open defecation free and garbage free.

7: Bedi's stint as Puducherry L-G: Ever since she became Lt Governor in May 2016, Bedi and the Congress government have been at loggerheads over various issues, including her style of functioning, the swearing-in of three MLAs and medical admissions, among others.

The Madras High Court had upheld the appointment of the three BJP functionaries of the Puducherry unit as nominated members of the House.

They were appointed as nominated members by the Home Ministry through its June 23, 2017, order.

They were inducted as nominated members by Lt Governor on July 4 last year, triggering protests by the Congress and its ally, the DMK.