Kiran Bedi removed as Puducherry LG days after CM asks Prez to recall her

New Delhi: Kiran Bedi has been removed as the Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry, the Rashtrapati Bhavan said in a statement on Tuesday.

Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan has been directed to discharge functions of the Lieutenant-Governor of Puducherry, in addition to her own duties, until a new appointment is made, the statement said.

"The President has directed that Dr. Kiran Bedi shall cease to hold the office of the Lieutenant-Governor of Puducherry and has appointed Dr. Tamilisai Soundararajan, Governor of Telangana, to discharge the functions of the Lieutenant-Governor of Puducherry, in addition to her own duties, with effect from the date she assumes charge of her office, until regular arrangements for the office of Lieutenant-Governor of Puducherry are made," the statement said.

Earlier in the day, Puducherry Social Welfare Minister Kandasamy said the cabinet headed by Chief Minister Narayanasamy will resign after the resignations of Congress legislators in Puducherry ahead of the assembly elections later this year.

In a video, Kandaswamy said: "Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Puducherry L-G Kiran Bedi have been harassing the Congress government for four and a half years. They are trying to dissolve the regime. We are working to dissolve the cabinet headed by CM Narayanasamy and win the assembly elections again."

Earlier, Congress MLA from Kamaraj Nagar constituency, A John Kumar had resigned from his post, citing "dissatisfaction with the Congress government."

This comes ahead of the Legislative Assembly polls scheduled to be held in the Union Territory.

Chief Election Commissioner of India (CEC) Sunil Arora has said that the election will be held at the same time in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. However, the dates of the polls are yet to be announced.