India News | BJP Govt at Centre Appointing Guvs in 'brazen Fashion', Alleges CPI Mouthpiece People's Democracy

New Delhi, Feb 24 (PTI) The CPI(M) on Thursday accused the BJP government at the Centre of appointing governors in a "brazen fashion" to serve its needs.

The latest editorial of the party's mouthpiece People's Democracy claimed that some of the governors appointed by the Union government have RSS background.

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The Kerala government has written to the Centre proposing amendments to the Constitution to give powers to the states in the appointment or recall of governors.

"The stand taken by the Kerala government reflects the longstanding need felt for change in the role of the governor who, at present, is appointed by the Centre and hence acts as an agent of the Central government," the editorial stated.

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In recent years, with Narendra Modi coming to power in 2014, the appointment of governors has been done in a "brazen fashion to serve the needs of the ruling party at the Centre", it alleged.

"Some governors have an RSS background and others are politicians who are all the more compliant to the Centre's wishes to be in the good books of the ruling party," the editorial stated.

According to it, the Kerala government has sought an amendment to Article 156 of the Constitution to empower the Legislative Assembly to recommend the recall of a governor found violating the principles of the constitution while discharging his functions.

The editorial further said that in Kerala, Governor Arif Mohammad Khan has been taking "egregious positions" which do not conform to the constitutional norms.

Raising the issue of governors in other non-BJP ruled states, the editorial alleged that they too were "acting brazenly and in a partisan fashion".

It highlighted the controversies surrounding West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar, Maharashtra's Bhagat Singh Koshyari and Tamil Nadu governor R N Ravi.

"The question is not some misstep by a particular governor or another. There is a deeper malaise. The present constitutional provision regarding the appointment of the governor makes that person a nominee of the Central government.

"This inevitably makes the post of the governor purely as a representative of the Centre," the People's Democracy editorial said.

It claimed that as long as the appointing authority is the Central government, the various proposals to select governors with an eminent record in public service, or non-politicians have no meaning.

"In fact, experience shows that having a non-politician like a retired bureaucrat, in many cases, has been worse since a retired bureaucrat is totally beholden to the Centre for his sinecure."

The editorial claimed there is no scope under the present dispensation at the Centre for any reform in the process of appointment of the governor and the functions of this constitutional authority.

"What can be done is for the opposition state governments to be vigilant in checking any encroachment on the rights of the elected state government and the legislature.

"Along with that, the state legislatures can amend, if required, the laws and statutes concerned, like the University Acts, to ensure the governor does not exceed the norms laid out," it said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)