Public Administration Mains 2017 : Model Question and Answer - 29
Public Administration Mains 2017 : Model Question and Answer
(Public Administration Paper II / Chapter: State Government and Administration)
(Current Based) Question : Do you think there is urgent need for redefining the role of Governor? (20 Marks/300 Words)
Model Answer :
There is need to relook in the role of office of Governor because over time, governors have turned into agents of the Centre,and in turn destabilising state governments. Article 155 of the Constitution empowers the President to appoint the Governor and Article 156 says he continues to occupy the office till he enjoys the pleasure of the President, which in reality is Prime Minister. The Supreme Court,in the BP Singhal versus Union of India (2010) case, however said that the power to remove Governors should only be exercised in rare and exceptional circumstances for valid reasons only.
The watershed year would be 1967, when numerous non-Congress governments were elected to power in the states. The Congress, chose to appoint party loyalists as governors, in contravention of all constitutional norms, the Governor became an ‘agent’ of the Central government. Over the past 65 years, this institution in India has been misused by the ruling party at the Centre for their partisan ends in which Governors subverted the people’s mandate and made a mockery of democracy. However, in 1994, the landmark Bommai judgment —made the decision of dismissing an elected government open to judicial scrutiny.
Subhash C Kashyap made an observation that a Governor is definitely the “agent” of the Union but “should never be the agent of the Central government” is important to remember. Sarkaria Commission on Centre-State Relations (1988) had stressed that the honour and prestige of the office of Governor could be maintained only when “eminent” individuals from outside the state with no “vested” interests, were appointed to the post. Jawaharlal Nehru also stressed that the post could be used to bring academics as well as distinguished people in other fields, who might not have the appetite or skills for winning an election, into public life. (Total Words- 297)
(Linkages : Governor and Indian Constitution, Governor and Agent of Centre, Governor and Era after 1967, Governor and S R Bommai Case, Role of Governor and Sarkaria Commission)