Lt Governor Kiran Bedi has been accused by Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanasamy of dishing out ‘untrue and utterly wrong information’ through social media. The CM’s comments came after Bedi had apparently said that the central government was giving grants at 60 per cent of the Union Territory’s total budget requirement.
The Puducherry CM told the journalists that the centre was providing only 26 per cent of the grants and not 60 per cent as Bedi claimed in social media. According to Narayanasamy, the central government grant was Rs 1,460 crore of the total Rs 7,830 crore for the 2018-19 fiscal.
Rs 2000 crore was mobilised by the territorial government under commercial taxes and under Excise and other levies the amount is Rs 1000 crore. Apart from that the government has been raising loans from open market borrowing for meeting the commitments.
“While the Centre’s grant is only 26 per cent of the budget requirements, the Lt Governor was issuing untrue information that the Centre was providing sixty per cent as grants,” Narayanasamy said.
Narayanasamy, who has been in collision course with the Lt Governor regarding several issues, also made it clear how and where the funds have been allocated. He said Rs 336 crore was earmarked for the government-run public sector undertakings and cooperative societies’ wages and employees’ allowances. “The file relating to this sent to Bedi was not yet cleared,” he accused the Lt Governor.
Narayanasamy also protested against Lt Governor’s meetings with officials and directing them. “This is in total violation of the rules of business relating to Puducherry administration.”
“Bedi had been misusing her power and acts arbitrarily, which is violative of the principles of democracy and the norms governing administration by the elected government,” the Chief Minister added.
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