Neeraj Rohmetra
JAMMU, June 17: Even as Centre has asked some of the Governors appointed during UPA regime to quit office in the wake of change of Government, there is no move yet to replace the State Governor, N N Vohra.
Official sources in Home Ministry told EXCELSIOR, “Union Home Secretary Anil Goswami is understood to have called up few Governors and conveyed the desire of the new Government that they step down”, adding, “there was no such move as far as the State of Jammu and Kashmir is concerned”.
“Prime Minister Office (PMO) has also conveyed to Mr Vohra about their decision of favouring his continuation at the gubernatorial post in view of his valuable contributions to the State”, sources said adding, “sufficient hints in this direction were also given to the State Governor in his meeting with the Prime Minister on May 30, this year in New Delhi”.
“The role of State Governor assumes great significance in view of the fact that he is also the Chairman of the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board and has to supervise all operations of the annual pilgrimage, which is slated to start from June 28 this year. Besides, Assembly elections are also due in the State in November-December this year and any move to disturb the constitutional head at this stage would send wrong signals”, sources pointed out.
Among those who are understood to have been called by Home Secretary Anil Goswami for the nudge are Maharashtra Governor K Sankaranarayanan, a Congressman from Kerala, Shiela Dikshit, a former Delhi Chief Minister who was appointed just on the eve of announcement of Lok Sabha polls, West Bengal Governor M K Narayanan and Nagaland Governor Ashwani Kumar, a former CBI Director.
Mr Vohra is presently in the first half of his second term as State Governor and was reappointed as Governor of State on June 25, last year. The decision of renewal of his term as State Governor was broadly seen as acknowledgement of the valuable role played by him in this sensitive State.
Former bureaucrat, Mr Vohra – who is also a recipient of prestigious Padma Vibhushan award had taken over as State Governor in 2008, when the agitation over the land use in Amarnath had led to heightened tension.
Sources stated that given his impressive track record as top bureaucrat of the country, Vohra had emerged as a preferred choice for the gubernatorial post for the second time. Source emphatically stated that the non-controversial track of Vohra as Governor of a sensitive State like Jammu and Kashmir and his good relations with the present political dispensation in the State – both ruling party and opposition had also turned the tide in his favour.
Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh Governor B L Joshi today resigned as the Narendra Modi government started the process of removal of those appointed by the previous UPA regime but apparently there was resistance from some of those who were asked to quit.
Kerala Governor Shiela Dikshit and four more Governors are understood to have been asked to make way for new appointees in the wake of the change of Government at the Centre.
Gujarat Governor, Kamla Beniwal, who did not share good relations with Modi during his tenure as Chief Minister in Gujarat, may also be on the way out.
Sankaranarayanan and Dikshit are said to be holding out mulling their next move. There is also speculation that some of the Governors may be shifted to “insignificant” states in a bid to ease them out.
Karnataka Governor H R Bharadwaj, whose term is coming to an end this month, and Assam Governor J B Patnaik, who has three more months, have said they have not resigned.
The resignation of 78 years old Joshi, who was recently sworn-in for a fresh term in Uttar Pradesh and was known for his proximity to the Nehru-Gandhi family, was sent to President Pranab Mukherjee, who accepted it and asked Uttrakhand Governor Aziz Qureshi to discharge duties till further orders.
It came a day after the Centre made known to some of the Governors that they quit. By a strange coincidence, a number of Governors were in the national capital and some of them met the President fuelling speculation that they could have resigned.
Besides the Governors, the Government is also working on removal of political appointees in bodies like National Disaster Management Authority.
While change of Governors has been routinely followed by new governments ever since the Janata Party Government unceremoniously removed Governors in 1977, ushering in a new practice, a judgement of the Supreme Court in 2010 has apparently circumscribed the Government’s hands now in going for the kill.
The judgement of a bench headed by the then Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan had said that while it was the prerogative of the Government to remove Governors, it cannot be done in an arbitrary, capricious or unreasonable manner.
Hence, the Home Secretary’s “persuasive” call to the Governors to step down, sources said.
The Centre’s decision came under severe attack from Congress and CPI-M, which termed it as unconstitutional and unethical. But BJP leaders felt there was nothing wrong in such a decision.
Home Minister Rajnath Singh refused to be drawn into any discussion on the subject but merely commented that if he were in the place of these Governors he would have quit.
Karnataka Governor H R Bharadwaj, whose tenure is ending this month, denied that he has resigned. Similar was the stand taken by Assam Governor J B Patnaik, who like Bharadwaj is also a Congressman, said he has not resigned.
Bharadwaj, whose term is ending this month-end, said he has not got a call to put in his papers.
“When my innings is coming to an end, it is my duty to come call on the President. I have also sought an appointment with the Prime Minister,” he said. “If there is a rumour (about my resignation) I cannot help,” Patnaik said and added that meeting the President, who is his friend, did not mean that he was resigning.
Dikshit said she cannot comment on media reports.
Meanwhile, Rajasthan Governor Margaret Alva met Prime Minister Narendra Modi which was described as a courtesy call. She also called on the President.
Alva, who completes her five year term in August, is understood to have not been sounded out yet.
Slamming the move to remove Governors, Congress termed it as “political vendetta” and said the “dictatorial” step will have “serious repercussions”.
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