The NDA government, which is all set to announce names for filling gubernatorial positions in several States, on Saturday announced the removal of Dr. Aziz Qureshi as Governor of Mizoram. In 2014, Dr. Qureshi had fiercely objected to being asked to put in his papers and later dragged the government to the Supreme Court against attempts to remove him.
The former Uttarakhand Governor had alleged that the then Home Secretary Anil Goswami, had called him on the government’s behalf, asking him to put in his papers or face a transfer for certain allegedly inappropriate comments on rapes that were attributed to him during his tenure as Uttar Pradesh Governor.
On Saturday, a communiqué from President Pranab Mukherjee’s office said Dr. Aziz Qureshi ceased to hold the office of the Governor of Mizoram and Keshari Nath Tripathi, Governor of West Bengal, would discharge the functions of the Governor of Mizoram, in addition to his own duties. Mr. Tripathi already holds additional charge of Bihar, Meghalaya.
As the list of governors who hold additional charge of multiple States grows , there are rumblings in political corridors about the NDA government’s treatment of governors who were appointed by the UPA.
There are as many as six governors who have been given additional charge of more than two States in the wake of vacancies that arose after UPA-appointed governors were either transferred or put in their papers. A senior BJP functionary, who spoke to The Hindu dismissed the speculation that the government has not been able to finalise names for filing the vacant gubernatorial positions.
“New names have been finalised and will be announced in the first half of April. These names were picked after much deliberation, paying attention to the merit of the candidates and to the sections of society that they represent,” the BJP functionary said, indicating that the party would give “adequate representation to the backward communities.”