ESL stirs a hornet’s nest

The other day, when Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, did not hesitate in voicing his disapproval of the way the incumbent Governor was conducting himself, it had an all too familiar ring.

Remember 1980s? It was when Telugu Desam Party (TDP) founder NT Rama Rao was building a strong case for abolition of the institution of the Governor since he felt that the governors had long ago forgotten that they should confine themselves to ensuring State’s compliance to the constitution but always exceeded their brief by worked as agents of the Centre. He was particularly critical of the functioning of Kumudben Joshi and Ramlal.

At a public meeting in East Godavari district recently, Chandrababu Naidu made no secret of his discomfiture with ESL Narasimhan trying to rally political parties against him at a time when he should be acting as the head of the government formed by the TDP.

Though Naidu, as is his wont, did not say what had transpired in an unscheduled meeting between them a day earlier in Vijayawada, he, however, came down heavily on the present Governor as well as the very institution. He just stopped short of seeking abolition of the institution but said everything that is grist for building a case for its abolition.

Recalling the days of NTR, he narrated how the TDP had suffered, in an obvious reference to Ramlal, the then governor in 1984, who dismissed NTR while he was undergoing heart surgery in the US and installed his Finance Minister Nadendla Bhaskara Rao as the chief minister.

As NTR had a lot of fight in him, he returned to India and he took to the streets the way he did after launching his party in 1982, and in just one month, forced the then prime minister Indira Gandhi to appoint a new governor Shankar Dayal Sharma, who reinstalled him as the Chief Minister.
Ironically, when NTR fought against the Centre, BJP was among the Opposition parties that had lent support to him and now it is the BJP Naidu is fighting.

Though the frequency with which the Centre is trying its hand at toppling State governments had come down, yet, if it desires to resort to such misadventures, the Governor comes in handy for them. Not very long ago, the Centre burnt its fingers by trying to topple Arunachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand governments but the temptation for the ruling party would always be there, too strong and tempting.

It is but natural for a regional party to think in a partisan way and view the Governor with suspicion as more often than not the Governor always listens to the Centre rather than the Chief Minister though he happens to be head of the State. This is because he could unceremoniously be sacked if the Centre does not like him as the constitution says he exists only during the pleasure of the president.

When it comes to the present occupant of Raj Bhavan, he has been in office for the last 11 years serving different dispensations at the Centre. The BJP too finds in him a trusted man, and according to Chandrababu Naidu, the Governor was doing everything at the Centre's bidding.

He had said that the Governor was polarising parties against him to benefit the BJP, a la Tamil Nadu. His outbursts at the Governor a day after his meeting with him, adds up – the Governor had discussed issues that were not palatable to Naidu - like how the Centre was treating his one-day hunger strike on the day of his birthday and why he was going full blast at Naidu. Even Hindupur MLA Balakrishna's intemperate Hindi against Narendra Modi was also discussed, sources said.

Naidu, while discussing the ways of the BJP at a news conference, had even said that there can be no smoke without fire when it was brought to his notice that since CBI was under the Centre, it might resort to any misadventure. Naidu admitted it was a possibility and said that he was ready to resist it come what may, giving rise to the suspicion that the Governor may also have hinted at this possibility.

As a regional party, TDP may not like the Governor and as a national party, the BJP wants faithful men in the posts so that they could act as a political link between the State and the Centre.

But the Governor is a constitutional link and not a political link and the role is limited to only letting the Centre know if the State's policies were running in conflict with the national interests so that the Centre could advise course correction. But the Governor's office is not to help the ruling party get an upper hand over the regional party in a State, the TDP leaders argue.

It is always advisable to dispense with the system of appointing a party loyalist as Governor but pick one of unimpeachable credentials and who goes by the rule book, to the office of the governor. His dismissal too should be made very difficult, maybe by only through impeachment if there is a grave constitutional impropriety.

The selection of the Governor could be made by a committee comprising members of not only important political parties but also men of erudition, and those known for their political integrity.

By R Prithvi Raj