Public Administration Mains 2017 : Model Question and Answer - 3
Public Administration Mains 2017 : Model Question and Answer
(Public Administration Paper II / Chapter: State Government & Administration)
Question : The authority of the Governor in the discretionary field is not unrestrained. If it is misused ... the President can check him / her and if necessary, he may even remove the Governor: Examine this statement critically in the context of the Office of the Governor. (15 Marks/250 words)
Model Answer :
Governor has important dual role as the Constitutional head of the state as well as nominee of the Centre, to maintain the unity and solidarity of a diverse country like India. Thus Constitution has conferred critical discretionary powers upon this dignified post to enable the incumbent to handle situational exigencies hassle free .
The Governor has been given several discretionary powers in order to ensure smooth administration in the State such as appointment of a Chief Minister in the absence of a majority, promulgation of an ordinance, giving assent to bills passed by the legislative houses, keeping bills for the assent of the President, issuing an emergency on the advise of the President or advising the President on the need to issue an emergency. At times the Governor engages in parochial and partisan activities, due to close proximity to politics of this State and still his/her discretionary powers prevail.
These discretionary powers even though cannot be reviewed by the local judicial courts however are subject to review by the President under Article 163 (2) and since he/she has the authority to appoint the Governor, he/she also has the authority to remove the incumbent from the office on grounds of overstepping their mandate.
The principles of a democratic constitution cannot allow the Governor to be
an autocrat and hence such checks and balances have to be instituted from a
higher authority. However, in such a scenario of control over the Governor it is
often found that the Governor is an agent of the Central Government in the State
and acts in a manner that suits the interests of his Central bosses. It can be
concluded that the discretionary powers of Governor are not absolute under any
circumstance and he has to function in the best interest of both state and
Nation.
(Linkages
: Governor, President, Discretionary Powers, Misuse, Unrestrained, Chief
Minister, Central Government )