Maharashtra Governor K. Sankaranarayanan on Wednesday said he did not propose to resign from office till he was asked to do so in writing by the appropriate decision-making authority.
“The Governor’s post is a constitutional one. He is a representative of the President, and is appointed by the President. No responsible person has asked me in writing to quit,” he told The Hindu over the phone from Mumbai.
Mr. Sankaranarayanan, who spoke to various TV channels as well in the course of the day, said he had received telephone calls from the Home Secretary Anil Goswami on the issue of his resignation. Terming it an attempt to denigrate the office of the Governor, he said he was surprised by the calls.
In his television interviews, he did not specify who the appropriate decision-making authority was, but it was apparent that he was referring to the Prime Minister and the Home Minister, mainly because the continuation of Governors in office is a political issue.
He is understood to have taken the position that he would follow the constitutional and the legal path on the question of his resignation. Besides, he holds the view that as per the May 2010 Supreme Court verdict, the Central Government cannot dismiss a Governor from office without valid reasons. At best, a Governor, who forms part of the Constitutional frame-work, can only be transferred during the pendency of his term.
Like all other UPA-appointed Governors, Mr. Sankaranarayanan too had made a courtesy call on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, besides attending his swearing in ceremony on May 26. The 82-year-old Sankaranarayanan has been serving as Maharashtra Governor since January 22, 2010. He took oath as Governor of the state for a second time on May 7, 2012 after the President granted him a fresh term of 5 years. Prior to his Maharashtra assignment, Mr. Sankaranarayanan served as Governor of Nagaland and Jharkhand, besides holding additional charge of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Goa during varying periods.
The decision not to quit is said to have been taken as per the direction of the Congress leadership, but it appears that there is no attempt to take a united stand on the issue, going by the resignations of some of the Governors appointed during the UPA rule.
