Puducherry LG Kiran Bedi says she is not a rubber stamp and will perform duties as administrator

Chennai: Puducherry lieutenant governor Kiran Bedi, caught in a tussle with the V Narayanasamy-led Congress government in the Union Territory, on Wednesday said she is “not a rubber stamp” and that she is performing her duties as an administrator. Her assertion comes amidst her stand-off with the elected government. The Lieutenant Governor said it was her “duty” to see files related to the Union Territory. [caption id=“attachment_3190244” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Puducherry Lieutenant Governor Kiran Bedi. Reuters[/caption] “I will examine the files because as an administrator it is my responsibility to ensure that there is financial prudence, fairplay, justice and (that) everything is within the budget,” she told reporters at the airport in Chennai. Bedi alleged that the Puducherry government wanted her to be an “endorser” of their files and a “rubber stamp,” but, she said, she would not be so. “They just want an endorsement (but) I am not an endorser. I am not a rubber stamp. I am fulfilling my duties as a responsible Lieutenant Governor,” she said, adding, she would be failing in her duty if she didn’t do that. She said people of the Union Territory have a “right to seek justice” and were therefore approaching her and she was holding regular grievance redressal meetings for them. “The Lieutenant Governor’s office is there to see there is administration and financial prudence,” she added.