The Governors of States such as Kerala, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Gujarat, among others, are under pressure from the new Government to resign. The names of several Bharatiya Janata Party leaders are doing the rounds as the potential replacements for these Governors, who were appointed by the UPA.
Following reports that the Home Ministry has advised the incumbent Governors to resign, UP Governor BL Joshi put in his papers on Tuesday. Three others have met President Pranab Mukherjee, raising speculation that they will also resign soon.
Indicating that the Government expects the incumbents to resign, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said that if he were in their position, he would have resigned. BJP circles say that senior leaders Murli Manohar Joshi, Kalyan Singh and Kesari Nath Tripathi are tipped to become Governors.
Party sources cited the precedent set by the UPA, which, in 2004, had advised the NDA’s Governors to resign. But the Congress has refused to give in, pointing to a Supreme Court order of 2010 that prevents the Centre from removing a Governor.
Karnataka Governor HR Bhardwaj, who had a number of issues with the erstwhile BJP Government in Karnataka, Assam Governor JB Patnaik, who is a senior Congressman and former Odisha Chief Minister, and senior Congress leader and Rajasthan Governor Margaret Alva met the President on Tuesday.
Kerala Governor Sheila Dikshit, Punjab Governor Shivraj Patil, Madhya Pradesh Governor Ram Naresh Yadav, West Bengal Governor MK Narayanan, Gujarat Governor Kamla Beniwal, Maharashtra Governor K Sankaranarayanan and Tripura Governor Devendra Konwar are said to be in the line of fire.
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