Puducherry CM V Narayanasamy ended his Dharna after a meeting with Lt Governor Kiran Bedi. He said that "partial success" was achieved on various demands.
Narayanasamy along with his cabinet colleagues was staging a dharna in front of the assembly, which was on its sixth day on Monday. A few of his demands included increasing assistance under old age and widow pension schemes.
At a Press conference, he gave a statement saying, "We are suspending all the agitations slated for the next two days against Kiran Bedi as we could score partial success on various public issues at the meeting we had with her.
He said after the meeting with the Lt Governor he and his colleagues met at the committee room to decide the agitations including jail bharo and massive fast slated for 20 and 21 February should be suspended. After the meeting, he immediately called off the dharna outside the assembly.
He said the talks were held at the invitation of the Lt Governor on various issues listed by him in his letter sent to her on 7 February.
Kiran Bedi accorded her approval to the schemes including payment of monthly assistance to 10,000 new applicants under old age and widow pension and auctioning of the cooperative sugar mill to raise funds to pay farmers and workers.
The CM said that Bedi even accepted the government's representation for posting of teachers on contract basis and appointment of nurses in government hospitals,
On other issues, she told the ministers that she will consider their representations.
The CM said that with partial satisfaction with the outcome of the meet, he will suspend the agitations and call off the dharna however, the campaign for statehood will continue without a break.