Governors tend to be both stooges and agents of the party ruling at the Centre. For this reason what they say and do sometimes appear politically motivated, especially when they are in charge of a State ruled by a party in the opposite camp.
Governors tend to be both stooges and agents of the party ruling at the Centre. For this reason what they say and do sometimes appear politically motivated, especially when they are in charge of a State ruled by a party in the opposite camp. But, in West Bengal, Governor M.K. Narayanan was well within his constitutional limits when he described the ongoing violence indulged in by the ruling Trinamool Congress as goondaism. The comment was made in the context of the attacks on leaders and workers of the Left parties and the Congress by Trinamool cadres, and was cautionary and advisory in nature. However, Trinamool Minister Subrata Mukherjee, in an apparent effort to find favour with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, took it upon himself to warn the Governor against making “provocative” remarks that could be “misunderstood” by the people. He went so far as to say that he was showing a “yellow card” to the Governor now, and that a “red card” could follow. If anyone is guilty of impropriety, it is the Minister, and not the Governor. Not surprisingly, the Left parties, the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party, all defended the Governor against the Minister.
Of course, State governments have reason to be sensitive to critical remarks by the Governor or Central ministers about the law and order situation. This is because of the history of misuse of Article 356 of the Constitution. Breakdown of the constitutional machinery is organically linked to the breakdown of law and order. Although safeguards against the misuse of Article 356 have been in place since the Bommai judgment of the Supreme Court, State governments continue to view all words and deeds from representatives of the Central government with deep suspicion. But while Governors will have to be careful in their choice of words in criticising ‘their’ State government publicly, they cannot be expected to remain silent in a situation of rising political violence. What is happening on the ground in West Bengal is indeed highly disturbing. Instead of pointing a finger at the Governor, the Trinamool government will do well to look inwards and allow the police to act independently in cases of violence triggered by ruling party workers. Otherwise, Chief Minister Banerjee will soon discover that her party men have squandered the goodwill with which she came to power. That ideologically disparate parties are speaking in the same voice should itself set the alarm bells ringing in the government. Although there is no threat of the Left, the Congress and the BJP coming together, the Trinamool might soon find that it cannot win electoral battles on its own steam.
Recent comments of the governor in describing the violence at Bhangar as goondaism have brought him in the centre of a huge controversy. While as a constitutional head he is not beyond his limit of taking note of the law and order situation, among other things, and expressing his mind on the subject, as because the constitution has no specific provision in such act of governors, it is not either in the best of the traditions for a governor to publicly comment on a subject like this which may cause a mistrust between the state and the governor, as well as create a partisan impression about him in the minds of the people. It is also true that a senior minister's comments of showing 'yellow card' to the constitutional head of a state tantamount to a veiled threat to him which can never have people’s sanction. So, one expects that such kind of bitter episode does not repeat in future. After all, we have many problematic issues needing immediate attention for the welfare of the state.
The spurt of violence witnessed in West Bengal deserves all condemnation. It was quite in the order of things that the gubernatorial office reacted rightly.That the TMC government has hardly come out to condemn the unusual and daunting utterances of its leader against the governora,unfolds two things. One,It lends credence to the notion that Mamatha clandestinely supports such violence against the opposition Marxist leaders. Second,she feels that a jibe against the governor is the one against the centre, as the ruling congress finds it smooth to run the affairs, discording the once ally, TMC. Both the above speculation speaks ill of the governance of TMC which has replaced the decades old Left rule with the slogan of Maa, Mathi, aur Manush. TMC has not rendered justice to the trio, as the peace and harmony of the state is in jeopardy with rampant hooliganism.
Please Email the Editor