Against the backdrop of the Centre removing Governors appointed during the UPA regime, former NDA partner JD(U) on Wednesday sprung a surprise by questioning the very need of Governors and has demanded a debate in Parliament.
While the Congress upped the ante against the NDA Government over removal of Governors appointed during the UPA rule saying its priority should be to combat inflation and not ‘shadow boxing’. On other hand while JD(U) general secretary KC Tyagi said that appointment and role of the Governor, which is a Constitutional requirement, has become a point of debate and criticism in the public forum and media.
“Since the post has become a political appointment to draw political mileage by then Central Government at the helm of affairs, there is reason to re-look at the appointment and the role and code of conduct under which a Governor should perform neutrally or whether it is required at all,” Tyagi said.
Maintaining that there is a long history to the ‘partisan attitude’ of Governors, Tyagi said, “what BJP led Government is doing today, the same has been done in the past by the UPA Government as well. And it has been seen in the past that most of the time a Governor’s authority is misused.”
Holding that since Governors are appointed by the Centre, they look for directions coming from the Centre rather than cooperating with the State Government, Tyagi said that the ruling party at the Centre should take the consent of the State Government before appointment of a Governor.
Former Union Minister and senior Congress leader M Veerappa Moily said the NDA Government’s move to change UPA-appointed Governors was condemnable and amounted to insulting the Constitution. “The manner in which it is being done, it has to be condemned. It amounts to insulting the Indian Constitution not the person occupying constitutional post,” Moily said.
The Government’s move to replace the Governors has also met with some apparent resistance from some of those who were asked to quit. Among those who are understood to have been called by Home Secretary Anil Goswami are Maharashtra Governor K Sankaranarayanan, a Congressman from Kerala, Sheila Diskhit, former Delhi Chief Minister who was appointed just on the eve of announcement of the lok Sabha polls, West Bengal Governor MK Narayanan and Nagaland Governor Ashwani Kumar, a former CBI Director.
Another former Union Minister Manish Tewari tweeted, “why BJP Government violating spirit of Constitution Bench Judgement in Singal’s matter by pressurising Governors to resign! Is this democraticIJ”
Mahila Congress chief and another party spokesperson Shobha Oza said that the Government’s priority right now should be checking price rise and inflation in place of “some political vendetta” like removal of Governors or chairpersons of some Commissions.
AICC spokesperson Sandeep Dikshit said that Governors are constitutional posts and they should be allowed to remain that. He said that the Supreme Court judgement makes it clear that you cannot replace Governors whimsically simply because they have a different political thinking. Sandeep’s mother Sheila Dikshit is serving on the gubernatorial post in Kerala.
Another party spokesperson PC Chacko said that the resignation of Governors is not a political issue. “If Governors have to resign, the propriety is that the President calls them and asks them to resign and not some officer calling them and asking them to put in their papers. Government is engaged in some sort of shadow boxing,” he said.