The Congress seems to be getting political support in its opposition to the Government’s reported move to remove UPA-appointed Governors.
After the Left parties and the Samajwadi Party, the Janata Dal (United) too has questioned the Government’s intention and termed it “unconstitutional”. The Congress’s effort is aimed at assisting its former leaders through legal and political ways.
Without regretting what it had done in 2004, the Congress maintained that the situation has changed after 2010.
When it assumed power in 2004, the Congress had nudged the NDA-appointed governors — Vishnu Kant Shastri, Kailashpati Mishra, Babu Parmanand and Kedar Nath Sahni — to leave. However, a five-judge Constitution bench of the Supreme Court had criticised the move, with Justice Raveendran writing: “The Governor cannot be removed on the ground that he is out of sync with the policies and ideologies of the Union government or the party in power at the Centre. Nor can he be removed on the ground that the Union government has lost confidence in him”.
“Let us not go into the history. The Supreme Court has made the legal position on the issue clear through a verdict in 2010. The Centre has to abide by this order,” Congress spokesperson Raj Babbar said, adding that a Governor does not belong to any political party.
Babbar was referring to an incident in 1977, when the then acting President BD Jatti returned a suggestion by the Morarji Desai Cabinet to dismiss some Congress-appointed Governors. The Cabinet re-sent the proposal to the President, who had to sign it, as per the convention.
The Congress got a helping hand from the JD(U), whose Secretary-General KC Tyagi said the BJP Government was repeating the actions of the UPA Government. He said it had been seen in the past that, most of the time, a Governor’s authority is misused. “JD(U) would like to initiate a meaningful debate in the coming Budget session of Parliament on the code of conduct, roles and responsibilities of a Governor and also look at the need for the post of Governor,” he added.
Tyagi said since the post has become a political appointment for the Central government of the day to draw political mileage, there is reason to reconsider the process of appointing a Governor, and the code of conduct under which he or she should perform neutrally.
Former Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari tweeted: “Why BJP Government violating spirit of Constitution Bench Judgement in Singal’s matter by pressurising Governors to resign! Is this democratic?” The Left parties and the SP had also questioned the logic behind the Centre’s move.