Governor issue: Congress’ first test of strength in the Opposition

A decimated Congress is all set to launch its first fight against the newly formed Narendra Modi Government over the possible removal of Governors appointed during its tenure.

The party is citing a Supreme Court order of 2010 to caution the Government on any action against the Governors.

Precedent of 2004 Though Uttar Pradesh Governor BL Joshi, a former IPS officer, resigned from his post, all the other Congress-appointed Governors have decided not to give in to the coercive tactics of the Modi Government. To put pressure on the Governors, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said if he was in their position, he would have resigned by now.

The BJP is citing the precedent of 2004, when the Congress wanted the resignation of three Governors appointed by the NDA regime.

Though they were not removed from their positions, the Centre asked for their resignations. The BJP is deploying a similar strategy to find replacements for about a dozen Governors appointed by the UPA Government.

The Congress said the BJP’s move is “political vendetta.” The leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Ghulam Nabi Azad, termed the move by the Home Ministry “dictatorial” and warned the Centre of “serious repercussions.”

Azad said the May 2010 judgement of the Supreme Court clearly says the Centre cannot remove Governors in an arbitrary and capricious manner with a change of power. He said the NDA is diverting the attention of the people from the promises it had made during the campaign.

He said the move is against “the very grain of democratic traditions and constitutional propriety.” He said “if at all taken forward, the move will be fraught with serious repercussions and have a debilitating impact on our constitutional democracy.”

Congress General-Secretary Ajay Maken too questioned the Centre’s motive.

“Governors, being constitutional authorities, should not be subjected to a public debate. We ask the Central Government to ensure constitutional appropriateness. The May 2010 Supreme Court order should be followed in letter and spirit,” Maken said.

Judgment cited Governors HR Bharadwaj and Sheila Dikshit have rubbished speculation that they have been asked to resign. A senior Congress leader told Business Line that the Governors are in touch with the Congress high command. “A decision will be taken after looking at various aspects of the issue. We will not budge to any pressure from the BJP,” the leader added.

The Congress is citing a judgment by a Bench headed by former Chief Justice KG Balakrishnan in a case filed by former BJP MP BP Singhal.

It said: “A 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.

“It follows, therefore, that change in government at the Centre is not a ground for removal of Governors holding office to make way for others favoured by the new Government.”