Two Puducherry Congress leaders on Monday sought a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation against Lieutenant Governor Kiran Bedi for allegedly mobilising public funds from private companies to desilt water bodies, PTI reported. Chief Minister’s Parliamentary Secretary K Lakshminarayanan and government whip RKR Anandaraman urged Chief Minister V Narayanasamy to call for an investigation.

Speaking at a press conference, the two leaders claimed that Bedi misused her position by seeking funds from companies under their corporate social responsibility scheme. “Misusing the authority itself is a clear case of corrupt practice and irregularities,” the leaders said.

While the central government had set up a committee and laid down guidelines to mobilise funds under the corporate social responsibility scheme, Bedi allegedly set up a desk in her office to contact private companies for funds, claimed Lakshminarayanan and Anandaraman.

“How many water bodies have been identified for desilting?” asked Lakshminarayanan and Anandaraman. Asking Bedi to disclose the amount of money raised through such funds, the two leaders said that only the CBI could reveal the truth.

Bedi has refuted the allegations.

Last week, the chief minister wrote to Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and demanded a judicial inquiry into the matter. Narayanasamy said he had evidence to show that Bedi had contacted people and received funds from individuals, The Hindu reported. “It is misuse of power and corruption,” he said. “I have asked the Union Home Ministry to conduct a probe into the matter as people from Raj Nivas are involved in the scam.”

The Opposition All India Anna Munnetra Dravida Kazhagam has also asked the Centre to order a probe into the allegations against Bedi. The Communist Party of India (Marxist) said that party workers will picket Bedi’s office on October 25 to protest against her “arbitrary style of functioning”.

Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party attacked Narayanasamy for allegedly criticising Bedi instead of focusing on the Union Territory’s development. BJP MLA PV Saminathan said that “such a tendency to blame Bedi and the central government shows that Narayanasamy has lost his capacity to provide good governance”.

The Puducherry BJP chief also criticised the chief minister for the alleged delay in allocating salaries and allowance to workers in public sector undertakings. While Welfare Minister M Kandasamy has appreciated Bedi’s work, Narayanasamy’s constant criticism has impeded Puducherry’s development, claimed Saminathan.