Senior BJP leader and former Governor of Tripura and Meghalaya Tathagata Roy on Wednesday said that not all Opposition-led states have issues with the Governor. His remark comes against the backdrop of several state governments clashing with the Governor.
“Does Odisha have any issues with the Governor? Also, earlier, when Nitish Kumar was part of the INDIA bloc, did Bihar have any issues with the Governor?” Roy asked.
On Wednesday, the DMK in its poll promise mentioned that it would amend the Constitution to clip the powers of the Governor. In the DMK’s manifesto for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the party promised that it would curb the powers of the Governor by repealing Article 361 of the Constitution and granting power to the chief ministers to appoint Governors.
However, former Governor of Tripura and Meghalaya Tathagata Roy said the DMK was trying to “fool people” and that it is not easy to amend the Constitution.
He said, “Is it that easy to amend the Constitution? Does the state have the power to do so? It’s empty bravado and the DMK is trying to fool people.”
“The DMK is in power in only one state (Tamil Nadu). Even if it decides to contest elections in other Southern states, it will lose the elections. How can it tell that it will amend the Constitution? Is it that easy to do it?” he said.
Roy emphasised that the governor’s presence is important for federalism.
“The Governor doesn’t run any parallel system like DMK and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee claim. The governors intervene only when the chief ministers indulge more in politics than in administration,” Tathagatha Roy added.
He said that Dr BR Ambedkar adapted the concept of the governor from Canada and not from Britain, and it was for the “betterment of federalism”.
“The office of Governor will stay and should stay for federalism. There can be talks to improve it, but it has to stay,” the BJP leader added.
Source Agencies
