A day after he quit as Maharashtra Governor after being transferred to Mizoram, K. Sankaranarayanan stopped short of directly criticising the Narendra Modi government. However, his views on the need to respect federalism were a pointed reference to the Centre.
“In a federal set-up, understanding is very important. The Chief Minister is the chief of the State and the Prime Minister the chief of the country. If there is no understanding, it will affect the democratic system and sometimes will result in the flouting of the Constitution,” he said in an interview to The Hindu on Monday.
Mr. Sankaranarayanan said he was expecting the transfer order and announced his decision to quit after informing party leaders, including Congress president Sonia Gandhi. It was not an antagonistic decision. The President had every right to make the transfer and an individual had the right to decide, he said.
The 82-year-old Congressman had resisted pressure to quit in June after a phone call from the Union Home Secretary because he felt it was not in good taste.
“It was very much against the federal system and the status of the Governor. I told him that when it comes from a proper person, I will think about it,” Mr. Sankaranarayanan said.
He said the need to maintain the prestige of posts was important because no post or government was permanent. “The biggest court in this country is our voters. You cannot put Fevicol on your chair,” he said. “I respect the post of the Prime Minister. He is elected and has majority but nothing is permanent.”
Mr. Sankaranarayanan was present when Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan was heckled in Solapur while sharing the stage with Mr. Modi earlier this month. “It was not nice. It is the responsibility of the State and the Central governments to respect each other,” he said.
Mr. Sankaranarayanan had come under criticism when he refused to sanction the CBI’s request for prosecution of former Chief Minister Ashok Chavan in the Adarsh housing scam. Defending his decision, he said, “I refused to allow the prosecution of Ashok Chavan because there was not enough evidence. Now the CBI has eventually agreed to that.”
