The on-going tug-of-war between Pondicherry Lieutenant Governor Kiran Bedi and the State’s chief-secretary Manoj Kumar Parida ended yesterday with Bedi getting the BJP-led Centre to replace Parida with Ashwani Kumar, who had till recently been working as the PWD principal secretary of NCT of Delhi and who didn’t have a perfect understanding with chief-minister Arvind Kejriwal.

In an order issued in the Ministry’s website, the Ministry of Home Affairs said that the orders would take immediate effect and asked the respective Governments to relieve the officials at once to enable them to report for duty at their new postings. Odisha-born Parida’s 2-year old tenure as chief-secretary of Puducherry had seen him locking horns with Lieutenant Governor Bedi as well as chief-minister V. Naranayanaswamy.

Bedi had been vocal in her criticism of Parida after terming him as someone who had been unable to remain ‘neutral and professional’ while discharging his duties.  Bedi’s remarks followed Parida’s open statement that he found it hard to work purposefully in an atmosphere vitiated by ill-will and feud. “Any officer would have found it hard to work in such a scenario without tainting his/her reputation,” Parida said.

Playing his transfer town, Parida said that he had already requested for a transfer. “Usually a chief-secretary’s tenure lasts for two years but I have served for more than two years and it’s time for me to leave,” he said. “I had already been granted promotion as additional secretary and would now take up that offer,” he added.