Our Great Leader Perarignar Anna famously quipped, “Why does a goat need a beard? And why does a state need a Governor?” DMK, as a party which firmly believes in more powers for the states in our federal set up, has always questioned the role of Governors, who act as the agents – and of course, the puppets – of the central government. They are merely a vestige of our colonial past.
The Governor of a state in India acts in a “Dual Capacity”. Firstly, he is the Executive Head of the state, though a figurehead. Secondly, he also acts as the representative or an agent of the central government. It is the second role which often creates suspicion and friction with the state governments. Though several Supreme Court judgments and the Sarkaria Commission report have clearly earmarked the role of the Governor, at the behest of the central government, Governors in India continue to assign themselves with imaginary powers and act unconstitutionally.
In our democratic polity, the biggest discomfort with a Governor in the state is that he is not elected by anybody. While even the President of India is elected by MPs and MLAs, the Governor who has similar powers as that of the President, is appointed by the central government. The state government has no control over the commissions or omissions of the Governor, there is no mechanism to remove or impeach the Governor. He has no accountability except to the persons by whom he was appointed. These are the precise reasons why DMK has always been antithetical to the office of the Governor.
The classic examples are Banwarilal Purohit, the present Governor of Tamil Nadu and Kiran Bedi the Lt Governor of Puducherry. It is axiomatic that the Governors will not even think of wielding these imaginary powers if the state government is ruled by the same party that’s in power at the Centre, too.
The Governor in TN right now conducts review meetings, orders FIRs, speaks about the corruption of the ruling party, but does not act on the issues he is expected to act on. The TN cabinet has recommended the release of prisoners who were convicted for the assassination of late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. They have been languishing inside the prison for the last 28 years. After the cabinet recommendation, the Governor has no play, he has to act upon the advice and sign the release. But for well known political reasons, he is delaying the file. Since, no time limit is fixed for the Governor to decide upon cabinet recommendations, a grey area in our Constitution, he is taking full advantage of that and is ensuring that these prisoners are not released in spite of the will of the Cabinet. The ruling AIADMK dispensation has not even raised a murmur about it. Clearly indicating that they are not worried about asserting the right of states or care a hoot about the federal principles of our Constitution.
When it became crystal clear that Banwarilal Purohit will not think twice to trample upon the federal structure of Constitution, it is DMK leader MK Stalin who swung into action. When the Governor took up the task of conducting review meetings across the state, DMK cadres showed black flags to him and protested the overreach of the Governor. Whichever part of the state he went to, black flags were shown to him.
The autocratic functioning of Kiran Bedi, the Lt Governor of Puducherry, is also receiving a lot of flak. Though the Lt Governor has some powers vis a vis the Governor of a state, the Lt Governor cannot negate the actions of an elected Chief Minister. Someone has to remind Kiran Bedi that she occupies the High Office of Lt Governor to serve the people, and not to turn it into a slanging match with the Chief Minister.
Nobody can forget how Kiran Bedi tried to link distribution of free rice with building toilets under the Swach Bharat scheme; she said no toilet, no free rice. After a fierce opposition to the move, she was forced to withdraw it.
It is a no-brainer to have two power centres giving contradictory orders and hope people’s interest would be served. Let us not forget what is happening in New Delhi, too, which is eerily similar to what’s happening in Puducherry. The Delhi Chief Minister has in fact expressed his solidarity with Puducherry Chief Minister Narayanaswamy. It is high time the governments decide how to rein in the Lt Governors, or rather grant full statehood to the these half states on paper.
The architect of our Constitution Babasaheb BR Ambedkar in the Constituent Assembly debates about the powers of Governor says, “The Governor under the constitution has no functions which he can discharge by himself; no functions at all. While he has no functions, he has certain duties to perform, and I think the House will do well to bear in mind this distinction....”
We fondly hope that Governors follow this diktat of the framers of our Constitution, and directives issued in several Supreme Court Judgments, and uphold the dignity of democracy. Indeed, it’s a tall expectation from the TN Governor, but our party the DMK will point out, criticise, complain, and protest whenever he steps out of his bounds. For, we cherish the federal structure of our Constitution in the DNA of our party.
A Saravanan is an advocate and a DMK spokesperson. Views expressed are the author’s own.