From 1959, when the then Nehru government dismissed the Communist government of EMS Namboodiripad, the political party at the helm in the Centre has been blatant in misusing the gubernatorial office holders – who have rarely lived up to the expectations of the founders of the Constitution. It is true that after the historic judgment in the SR Bommai case, the frequency and tenure of President’s Rule has come down substantially, but the differences between the two top functionaries often spills over to the newspaper headlines.
As things stand today, there is an ongoing tussle between multiple Governors and CMs in states ruled by non-BJP parties — Arif Mohammad Khan and Pinarayi Vijayan in Kerala, N Ravi and MK Stalin in Tamil Nadu, Kalraj Mishra and Ashok Gehlot in Rajasthan, Banwari Lal Purohit and Bhagwant Mann in Punjab, VK Saxena and Arvind Kejriwal in Delhi and, TK Bose and Mamata Banerjee in West Bengal. They have clashed on a range of issues, from the appointment of Vice Chancellors in state-led universities, withholding the assent to Bills passed in the state assembly, conducting of a floor test to prove majority in the house, mode of address in the assembly, to the appointment of the power regulator and the State Election Commissioner. Maharashtra’s ex-Governor Bhagat Singh Koshiyari too had locked horns with the previous Uddhav Thackeray government on several issues.
The interesting point to note is that without exception, political parties have held different views when in opposition and when they are in power. The BJP disliked the Centre’s interference with the state legislative process so much that in its submission to the 1988 Sarkaria Commission, the party suggested that states should be consulted before passing a bill on an item in the Concurrent List.
In the late 1980s, in a rare political collaboration of the Left and the Right — both the CPI(M) and the BJP suggested that governors should be appointed by a panel chosen by the state legislature and the Inter-state Council should be making the appointments. The proposition was summarily dismissed by then ruling dispensation.
As the French would say — plus, ça change, plus c’est la même chose, the more things change, the more they are the same.
