Topsy turvy world of Raj Bhawan : More than an ornamental head
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: August 30 , 2014 -

Farewll Party of His Excellency, V.K.Duggal Governor of Manipur at Rajbhavan :: Pix - Kiran Singh (DIPR)

If the current policy followed by the BJP Government is anything to go by then it may be safe to come to the conclusion that the office of the Governor is more than an ornamental head.

After Narendra Modi came to power leading the BJP to a lanslide victory at the Lok Sabha hustings in the earlier part of this year, it has become increasingly clear that here is a man, as Prime Minister of the Nation that the BJP led Government at the Centre is anathema to anything that has got to do with the Congress.

Who threw the first stone is obviously open to debate, but it is not an encouraging sign to see the office of the Governor being dragged into the murky world of politics, especially the kind of politics that is gaining currency as one between the Congress and the BJP.

While the BJP may be under the impression that it is doing the right job in changing Governors or giving the marching orders to the man or woman occupying Raj Bhawan in the State capitals, the manner in which the office of the Governor has been dragged into the no holds barred political confrontation goes against the very understanding of the office of the Governor being above politics.

It stands true that the Government at the Centre may want to have their own men or women at the Raj Bhawan of each State, but surely politicising the office of the Governor is not to the best health of a democracy as seen and practised in the country.

This is not say that all Governors who are in the firing line or have been 'instructed' to put in their paper are abover politics, but surely there must be a better way to deal with the issue at hand, far removed from the manner in which the Centre appears to be on a 'witch hunt'.

Manipur Governor, VK Duggal is amongst the list of the Governors who obviously has been given the marching orders by the BJP dispensation at New Delhi.

The Government at the Centre may be under the impression that each State should have its chosen head but at the same time it is also incumbent upon the Government to explain why a Governor has to be removed or is being removed.

It stands that the Centre has obviously given or spelt out the reasons for removing certain Governors, but so far there is nothing to suggest that VK Duggal during his short stint in Manipur did anything that went against the principle of Parliamentary democracy.

For the record VK Duggal does not come from a political background, unlike some others who have put in their papers. He was a bureaucrat and an officer.

This much is true and is there on paper and hence record. The BJP Government at the Centre at least owes an explanation on why VK Duggal felt pressurised to put in his paper.

If he was a political man coming from a political background then the action of New Delhi would have been understood.

A PB Acharya may be in a good position to understand the finer nuances of the North East, but the fact also stands that in many ways he is seen more as a BJP man than someone who has excelled in public life.

During his stint here, from December 23, 2013 till the he resigned on August 28, 2014, VK Duggal did more than a Governor to reach out to the people and that is saying something significant.

Politicising the office of the Governor is certainly not helpful for the Nation.