Puducherry MLA moves privilege motion against Bedi

Puducherry AIADMK legislator A Anbalagan on Wednesday submitted a privilege motion against Lt Governor Kiran Bedi for “insulting him” at a public event in the Union Territory on Tuesday.

Anbalagan and Bedi were involved in a public spat on Tuesday after the former issued instructions to switch off the microphone when the latter was speaking. The two argued with each other for almost a minute on the stage before Anbalagan walked out of the event in a huff.

On Wednesday, Anbalagan met Speaker V Vaithilingam and submitted a petition to initiate privilege proceedings against Bedi for “insulting a member of the legislative assembly.”

“I request initiation of privilege motion against Bedi for preventing me from speaking at a public event and insulting a people’s representative in public,” the petition read.

When contacted, Vaithilingam told DH that he would go through the petition carefully and consult legal experts before taking a decision. “I have to go through the petition thoroughly before I take a decision on whether to send it to privilege committee or not. But, I will consult legal experts too,” he said.

Meanwhile, Bedi said one has to follow a “respectful decorum” where constitutional office bearers are others are invited as speakers.

“The Organisers must prior brief speakers. And once the minute to minute program is approved, change ought to be made with the approval of the organiser. Or whoever is presiding the event,” she said, referring to Tuesday’s incident.