I've no knowledge of CM's Singapore visit, says Kiran Bedi

Puducherry: Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry Kiran Bedi on Friday said she has no information on Chief Minister's and Minister's travel abroad. The Chief Minister V Narayansamy, accompanied by Industries Minister M O H F Shah Jahan and chairman of the Industries Development Corporation R Siva, MLA, is currently on a visit to Singapore to hold discussions with industrialists to attract investments to the Union territory.

She said in her WhatsApp message that she came to know of the trip through media reports and added that the Chief Minister was on a private visit (to Singapore) but was doing government work while on such a visit. "Everyone in the government should seek prior approval of the appointing authority as per the rules," she said. "For the Chief Minister and other Ministers of Puducherry, the President is the appointing authority.

It is not known if the Chief Minister had taken permission for his current visit and also for the visits in the past," she said adding that "Information about his travels abroad was mostly known through media reports or rumours." Bedi said this applies to the Health Minister Malladi Krishna Rao who is known to make frequent visits to Sri Lanka. "The government of India should also know who is hosting the Chief Minister and the Ministers and funding while they are on a private visit.

It is also a question of security of the state and also of the Chief Minister and his ministerial colleagues." As an administrator, she said she was dealing with departmental cases and public servants. "When an official went abroad without prior permission he or she has been charged with penalties as punishment and treated as an act of indiscipline," she said. She said she had been compelled to report in the case of visits by Chief Minister and Ministers to Government of India to remind them of the protocols and the processes required for their foreign travels, official or private.

Bedi said, "In the interest of security, I have been compelled to report this to the government of India with a request to remind Chief Minister and other Ministers of the protocols applicable for their visits and to follow the due processes required for their foreign travels, private or official."