President Pranab Mukherjee appoints Kiran Bedi as Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry

Kiran Bedi named new Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry.

New Delhi: In a major development, former IPS officer Kiran Bedi was on Sunday appointed as the Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry.

Bedi was appointed Lieutenant Governor after President Pranab Mukherjee gave his nod. 

"I am extremely grateful to government for giving me such a wonderful opportunity," Bedi said on her appointment as Puducherry LG.

Ajay Kumar Singh is the outgoing Puducherry Lieutenant Governor.

Bedi, who joined as the first woman IPS in 1972, served for 35 years before she took voluntary retirement in 2007 as Director General, Bureau of Police Research and Development.

In 2011, Kiran Bedi actively supported Anna Hazare's campaign against black money and was a member of  India Against Corruption (IAC). But she split from it in 2012 after a faction led by Arvind Kejriwal formed the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). In 2015, Bedi joined Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the same year, she contested Delhi Assembly election on party ticket against AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal. Unfortunately, she lost the election from Krishna Nagar constituency, a BJP stronghold to AAP candidate SK Bagga.

Puducherry elections

Puducherry elections results were announced on May 19.

Out of the 30 seats, Congress won 15 and its ally DMK.