The Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said in Kozhikode on Monday that the Centre had not consulted him regarding the impending appointment of former Chief Justice of India (CJI) P. Sathasivam as Governor of the State.
Replying to journalists in Kozhikode, Mr. Chandy said that the Centre usually followed a procedure of seeking the opinion of Chief Ministers concerned when Governors were appointed. “Three-to- four Governors had been appointed after I became Chief Minister. On all these occasions, the Centre had consulted me,” Mr. Chandy said.
This time too, the Chief Minister said, “I expect the Centre to follow that procedure. Till this moment, I have not been asked about the appointment of the Governor. How can I comment on a matter based on media reports,” Mr. Chandy asked. He also added that as a rule the Union Home Minister sought the opinion of the Chief Ministers. That was the practice. “I will let know my opinion when I am asked to,” he said.
The Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala also said that normally a former CJI was not appointed as State Governors. This was an unprecedented step. “The CJI was higher in hierarchy than a Governor and also held in a more eminent position. So there is an abnormality in appointing a CJI as Governor that too even without consulting the State government. It is a question of propriety,” Mr. Chennithala said. A day ago Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee president V.M. Sudheeran fired the first salvo questioning the appointment of Justice (retired) Sathasivam as Governor. The CJI was Constitutional functionary executing the role of swearing-in the President, he had said. The Centre had cleared the appointment of Justice. Sathasivam, who retired as CJI in April 2014. This was after Sheila Dikshit put in her papers when the BJP-led NDA government planned to transfer her to Mizoram.
