Defending her actions in Telangana and the Union Territory of Puducherry, Telangana Governor and Puducherry Lieutenant Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan on Thursday maintained that she was “not interfering” in the administration.
While hitting out at Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao, she said her action of taking a train to the flood-affected Bhadrachalam in July forced the Chief Minister, who was “sleeping” in his bungalow in the State capital, to visit there. She said former Puducherry Chief Minister V. Narayanasamy was “allergic” to Lieutenant Governors — whether it was Kiran Bedi or her (Ms. Soundararajan).
Ms. Soundararajan sought to “clarify” certain issues raised while she was interacting with senior journalists in Chennai after releasing a coffee table book, ‘Rediscovering Self in Selfless Service (The 3rd Year Activities Supporting Silent Sufferers)’. “Those in the administration sometimes perceive that my functions are an interference,” she said.
As for the speculation on why she was often in Tamil Nadu while holding the constitutional posts in Telangana and Puducherry, Ms. Soundararajan said, “I am serving completely in Telangana. That is the same case in Puducherry. I am giving all my love to Tamil Nadu.”
“There were criticism as to what I could do in Bhadrachalam,” she said and added: “This Governor had the talent to bring out the Chief Minister, who was sleeping in that bungalow with sprawling gardens till that time.” She recalled having taken the train to reach the affected villages much before the Chief Minister arrived there.
Paying for food
Ms. Soundararajan said she had never taken a chartered flight or a helicopter, though she was entitled to them. She said her expenses in the Raj Bhavan were less, and she was paying for her food.
Referring to comments that she was “poking her nose” in the affairs of Tamil Nadu, she said, “I will poke my nose or head...and none can stop it.”
As for the protests against the decision to privatise electricity distribution in Puducherry, she said she sorted the issue out in three hours. “I have that patience. That is governance.”
She made it clear that she wanted to be “with people” and that as the Governor, she was doing that. She urged people, who “desired” to see her in the Rashtrapati Bhavan, to let her remain this way. “My part would be there in politics and that part will be for people,” she concluded.
