New governors, Centre’s old politics

The latest round of appointments of active politicians as governors of states demonstrates once again the contempt of central governments, irrespective of the party in power, towards the Sarkaria Commission report on Centre-state relations.

The commission had laid down that the governor should be an eminent person who has not participated in active politics for some time before his appointment. Of the new governors, one was a sitting Union minister, while the rest are active BJP leaders. The commission had also recommended that the governor should be appointed in consultation with the chief minister of the respective state, the Vice President of India and the Speaker of the Lok Sabha.

The report stressed that prominence should be given to the state government, as a good rapport is required between the chief minister and the governor for proper functioning of the parliamentary system. In reality though, chief ministers are rarely consulted and are only informed about the appointment.

Unfortunately, most governors end up being partisans acting on behalf of the party in power at the Centre and are often engaged in destabilising opposition party governments in the states rather than functioning as per the Constitution.

In 2018, outgoing Karnataka Governor Vajubhai Vala had sworn in B S Yediyurappa as chief minister though the numbers were clearly stacked against him. Yediyurappa had to resign two days later. In Maharashtra, Governor Bhagat Singh Koshiyari administered the oath of office as chief minister to Devendra Fadnavis in a midnight BJP operation to grab power despite not having numbers.

In Tamil Nadu, Governor Banwarilal Purohit interfered with the day-to-day administration and even summoned bureaucrats for routine meetings, arrogating to himself the powers of the chief minister. In an unprecedented move, Kerala Governor Arif Mohammad Khan had recently declined permission to hold the Assembly session but was forced to relent later. The list of governors and their improprieties is a long one.

For long, there has been a demand from many quarters for the abolition of the governor’s post, which is a vestige of the colonial era. DMK founder C N Annadurai had famously remarked that the post of the governor is as redundant as a goat’s beard. While that is one argument that must be debated, the other is that abolishing the post itself may be akin to throwing the baby out with the bathwater, and thus not desirable. Instead, the Centre should make efforts to restore the dignity of Raj Bhavans by appointing people of high credibility and integrity. It may begin by appointing non-political eminences to the post.