PUDUCHERRY: Lieutenant governor Kiran Bedi declared that she is ready to discuss all issues raised by chief minister V Narayanasamy at an open public forum in his presence and others, including his cabinet colleagues, chief secretary, finance secretary and members of the public.In an open letter to Puducherry people, Bedi said the exercise is to enlighten the common people on how her office carefully worked to "save money for the poor, be it for rice, wages (for the workers) of AFT (Anglo-French Textiles), Swadeshi Mills, Sugar Mills etc. and even on issues of road safety due to large number of fatalities".Bedi said the decision to enforce helmet rule is to "save a common man’s earning member of the family dying by road accident".“Look forward to our meeting with HCM (honourable chief minister) and his cabinet colleagues and our concerned secretaries on Feb 21 at 10am. Hopefully, by then the road will be cleared for public use. I apologise for all inconvenience caused to you all by roadblocks, and mournful drums beaten at night in and around the Raj Nivas. Those drums have been seized now. But the main Raj Nivas Road is still not Open,” she said.She said Raj Nivas worked hard for the last two and half years for the betterment of Puducherry and to make Puducherry cleaner, safer, greener, healthier and water-rich to meet irrigation, drinking and sanitation needs and much more. “At times this was resisted by certain vested interests, yet we pursued it for the benefit of Puducherry as a whole,” she said.She said efforts were also made to strictly work within the allocated budgets passed by the legislative assembly so that the government does not borrow more (within limits), which must be repaid by successors. “We used all money correctly for the poor and never allowed any diversion. We were supported by the chief secretary and the finance secretary in doing so,” she said."However, when money has not been allocated for a project, how can the government execute the project?" questioned Bedi.Bedi said the staff in government-managed tourism corporation received their provident funds to a tune of Rs one crore because of the efforts taken by her office in streamlining the financial administration. “This has benefitted the lower classes the most. Or else perhaps they would have never ever got,” she said.Similarly, the workers of AFT will be given gratuity as her office saved ‘their money’ from grant-in-aid.“We are bound by grant in aid financial rules which were being violated all along and now stopped. (It is this which has disturbed the CM the most)." she said."I wish to point out that because of the good administration of chief secretary and finance secretary and Lt Governor office, money was saved to give the poor rice or else some portion of it could have been diverted. Details are not known to the public. But can be made public in case need arises. Friends many things we do silently and does not come to public notice,” Bedi said.

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