Controversial role of Governor in Indian politics

It has been a common trend that if the Government at Centre changes, the Governor of states are either forced to vacate their posts or transferred to some other states.This has been done on the basis of ambiguous clause in which constitution neither specifies the eligibility criteria for the post of Governor nor does it mention about the reasons under which the President can remove or transfer the Governor of a state.


Why governor's position is so politicized or why the post of Governor so controversial?

In this article, we will discuss about following points:
  • History of post of Governor
  • Who is a Governor?
  • Why does Central government misuse the powers of Governor to administer over the States?


What is the history of post of Governor?

The post of Governor is a vestige of colonial past and its ancestry could be traced to Section 93 of the Government of India Act,1935. 

The post has been in question from the time it was mentioned in the draft constitution. Although draft constitution preferred for method of direct election for the post of Governor, the Constituent Assembly opted for present system of appointment by the President.



Who is Governor of a State?

Article-153 in Part-VI of the constitution provides for the office of Governor of a state. 

Governor is only a constitutional nominal head of the state and real powers of administration are in the hands of Chief Minister of the State.

Governor of a state is appointed by the President with warrant under his hand and seal in consultation with Chief Minister of the state.

Governor acts as an agent of Central Government in the state but office of Governor is neither under the control of Central government nor it is subordinate in any respect to Central Government.

The most ambiguous and controversial point related to the office of Governor is the procedure and clauses based on which Governor can be removed from the post. The Governor can be removed by the President but the Constitution of India does not clearly mention any specific condition under which Governor can be removed from the office. This point has been misused by the Central Government based on which Governors have been changed whenever the government at Centre changes. 



Why is Governor's powers misused by the Centre government to rule over the states?

The Independent India has seen many situations where Governor's special power were misused by the Government at the Centre to rule over the state and sack the State Government [by means of President's rule (Article 356)]. Particularly, the era of 70's and 80's saw en-masse sacking of the state governments, especially during the rule of Indira Gandhi.

It was thought that the post of Governor would grant an opportunity to eminent academics, artisans and distinguished citizens to get connected to the roots of the country via Political system but this view has gone largely out of window.

The post of Governor was formed to maintain a fair balance between the Centre-State relations and act as "checks and balances" but the numerous instances of President's rule imposed in the states such as recently in Arunachal Pradesh in 2016 certainly bring the post under scanner.

Note:
**********
If the article was helpful, don't forget to like, share or comment on it. It will help us improve the quality of material.

No comments:

Post a Comment