Puducherry: Puducherry AIADMK legislator submitted a memorandum to Speaker V. Vaithilingam, raising a privilege issue against Lt Governor Kiran Bedi for disrupting his speech at a government function here on Tuesday.
The legislator and Ms Bedi locked horns at Gandhi Jayanti celebrations over the duration of the MLA’s speech. The duo engaged in a heated verbal spat as Ms Bedi asked the organisers to switch off the mike when the MLA was addressing the gathering at a function organised to declare the Union Territory as Open Defecation Free (ODF).
The MLA said that he had begun the speech congratulating Ms Bedi for her efforts and then urged the government to ensure basic sanitation facilities before declaring the Union Territory as ODF.
“There are people who lack basic facilities including toilets. Though they have submitted application to government for financial aid nothing has happened so far. I was bringing this issue to the notice of the administrators when the whole drama happened,” said Mr Anbalagan.
“The Lt Governor got up from the seat and came near me directing me to stop the speech. I requested her to resume her seat. I reminded her that she holds the position of the administrator of the Union Territory, while he is presently a member of the Legislative Assembly, and they were being watched by the public. But Ms Bedi instead asked the technician to switch off the mike and directed me to go out as if she is talking to her subordinates, I felt humiliated and went out,” said the legislator.
Alleging that the whole incident was a deliberate attempt to malign his reputation the AIADMK leader urged the speaker to initiate, action against the Lt Governor, under the Legislative Assembly Privileges Act.
On August this year seven of the 15 Congress MLAs and one of the two DMK members had raised a privilege issue against Ms Bedi for allegedly making derogatory remarks against the Assembly and legislators.
