Sacked Puducherry lt Governor Virendra Kataria is looking for legal options and has threatened to drag the NDA Government to court for his unceremonious exit from Raj Bhawan.
The former l-G said he is consulting legal experts and exploring all options. Kataria has sought an appointment from President Pranab Mukherjee to know the reasons for his sacking given on the file. Kataria is the only Governor to be sacked by the new NDA Government while several others resigned under pressure from Home Ministry. Kataria was sacked on July 11 after the President ‘withdrew his pleasure’ and issued an order saying Kataria “ceases to hold the office of the lieutenant Governor of Puducherry”.
“When I came for a courtesy call to Narendra Modi and Rajnath Singh they told me I was doing a good job. But after a few days (June 20) PS to Home Secretary called up to say I should put in my papers. I told him I will not quit. It is disgraceful to tell a Governor to resign,” said Kataria, who had spent just a year as Puducherry l-G.
The NDA feels that every Government has a right to appoint its Governors. In fact, Congress too has in the past gone the same path.
However, the veteran Congressman doesn’t want to go down without giving a fight. “Governor or no Governor I will fight till last. Already there is a Supreme Court order with regard to removal of Governors. But before I approach the court I want to know what are the grounds on the basis of which I was sacked. I would like to know what is on the file,” he said. The former l-G claimed that he was being penalised for taking on a corrupt Government in Puducherry. He added that he had submitted a report to Home Ministry in February and informed Prime Minister Manmohan Singh about corruption in Puducherry.