Bill proposes MLAs, panchayats choose Governor

CPI(M) MP Dr V Sivadasan is introducing a private members bill in Rajya Sabha

With Raj Bhavans and governments at loggerheads in several states, CPI(M) MP Dr V Sivadasan on Friday introduced a private members bill in Rajya Sabha seeking radical changes in the appointment of Governors where in an electoral college select them.

Sivadasan, an MP from Kerala, proposes that the Governor should be elected by the electoral college consisting of elected MLAs of the state and elected members of panchayats, municipalities and corporations of the state.

At present, Article 155 mandates that the Governor of a state shall be appointed by the President by warrant under his hand and seal. Nothing in Article 153 prevents the appointment of the same person as Governor for two or more states.

Sivadasan has sought to replace this amendment with his proposal for setting up an electoral college.

He also wants a replacement for the existing Article 156 that says that a governor will continue in his office till he has the confidence of the President or till he resigns.

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Sivadasan has proposed that a governor has a term of five years and can submit his resignation to the Speaker of the Assembly and not the President. The Assembly can also remove a Governor through a resolution passed by a majority of not less than two-thirds of the members present and voting.

According to the Statements of Objects and Reasons of the Bill, a Governor is the head of the executive of the State Government and holds immense dignity. The stature and dignity of the office require that the person who holds such a position enjoys the legitimate support of the people and be accountable to the people of the state, it said.

"The States in India through the long decades of evolution have emerged as stable political entities. To appoint the Head of the State Governments through executive orders is antithetical to the spirit of democracy and federal spirit. Seven decades of political evolution demands that the highest offices of the country reflect the spirit of the age," he said.

Sivadasan's bill comes against the backdrop of the recent controversy over Governor Arif Mohammed Khan refusing to approve his customary speech to be delivered in the State Assembly during the Budget session till the last minute and other disagreements with the government. The CPI(M)-led government in Kerala also wrote to the Centre to amend the Constitution to give powers to the state governments in the appointment or recall of Governors.

Governors in West Bengal (Jagdeep Dhankhar), RN Ravi (Tamil Nadu) and Maharashtra (Bhagat Singh Koshyari) also are at loggerheads with the Mamata Banerjee and Uddhav Thackeray-led governments respectively.

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