Changing its stand on dealing with incumbents in Raj Bhavans, the Narendra Modi government has now signalled the exit sign for around half a dozen governors appointed by the previous UPA government, a move that could end up in a political collision with the Congress.

While Uttar Pradesh Governor B L Joshi, a former IPS officer, sent in his resignation taking the cue from a phone call coming from Home Secretary Anil Goswami, seniors like Sheila Dikshit (Kerala), H R Bhardwaj (Karnataka) and J B Patnaik (Assam) appear to be not in a mood to give up without a fight.

A Rashtrapati Bhavan communiqué said the President has accepted Joshi’s resignation forwarded by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), and given Uttarakhand Governor Dr Aziz Qureshi additional charge of Uttar Pradesh. 

Initially, the government was of the view that governors whose tenures were ending soon should be allowed to complete their terms, while nudging those who have more than two years left in office to quit. 

However, there was a sudden change of mind, and Goswami was tasked to speak to around 12 governors and convey the government’s desire that they step down, a move that the Congress and other parties termed as “unconstitutional and unethical”.

The thinking in the government was made clear by Home Minister Rajnath Singh. He said, “If I were in their position, I would have quit a long time ago.” 

BJP general secretary Rajiv Pratap Rudy made a reference to the 2004 experience when UPA dismissed four governors appointed by the NDA government. 

He said that political propriety demanded that governors resign.

BJP leader Sudhanshu Mittal alleged on Twitter that governors like Bhardwaj and Kamla Beniwal (Gujarat) were taking orders from Sonia Gandhi and following an anti-Modi agenda.