50 per cent of MBBS seats in Puducherry medical colleges to be reserved for government-sponsored students: Minister announces bill

He said the private medical colleges have been earmarking seats under government quota every year only through the negotiations the government was holding with the managements.

"We will now pass a Bill in the forthcoming budget session of the assembly to specifically direct the medical colleges to earmark 50 per cent of the total seats in MBBS to government-sponsored students and no medical college could play hide-and-seek game," he said.

The Bill had been prepared and after cabinet approval,Pu the Bill would be adopted in the House which is likely to have the budget session in the last week of March or early April.

Further taking a jibe at the Lieutenant Governor Kiran Bedi, he said that he would take legal action against Lieutenant Governor Kiran Bedi for allegedly interrupting implementation of developmental schemes decided upon by the elected government ever since she assumed office in 2016.

Addressing reporters here, Rao, elected from the lone Yanam constituency, an enclave of the union territory in Andhra Pradesh, to the territorial Assembly, said he would launch legal action against Bedi for allegedly impeding implementation of developmental and welfare schemes of not only his departments but also all other departments.

Objecting to Bedi's alleged intimidating attitude towards IAS officers, the Minister said the former IPS officer was targeting the Tamil IAS officers.

Referring to the recent findings of the CBI that none of the six officers of the territorial administration had committed any wrong in the selection and admission of students to privately managed medical colleges in 2017, he said, "The six officers had suffered mental agony and depression because of the allegations the Lieutenant Governor had made against them to the CBI through the Medical Council of India. "What is her answer to the harassment the officers had suffered because of her authoritative stance," he asked.

Bedi had also sent allegedly adverse reports against ''honest officers'' to the Union Home Ministry, he said without disclosing their names.

Rao said his departments were not able to implement any centrally sponsored schemes or schemes evolved by the territorial government because of the alleged intervention of Kiran Bedi.

"I will never compromise and I have seen several Kiran Bedis in my career and I will file a case against her in the next one week to bring justice to the people and to ensure that the intervention of Bedi does not continue," Rao said.

He said Bedi has been approaching the government departments in the Central government asking them not to clear any grants for Puducherry.

"Should this be the style of functioning of a Lt Governor," he asked. He said Bedi was rejected by the people in the Assembly polls in 2016 in New Delhi and was later appointed to the gubernatorial post.

"We are elected by the people and hence the attitude of overbearing on her part would end in a fiasco," he said adding that the Rs 137.28-crore Flood Wall and Soil Erosion Scheme for Yanam had also been stalled by the Lieutenant Governor without any justification.

The future of Puducherry would be bleak if Bedi continued to hold the gubernatorial post, he further said.