Union Home Secretary Anil Goswami has denied in the Supreme Court that he ‘threatened’ Uttarakhand Governor Aziz Qureshi to resign.
In his affidavit filed in response to a writ petition filed by Mr. Qureshi, Mr. Goswami said: “I am aware of the status of the office of a Governor. I did not threaten him to resign. No Governor was forced to resign by the NDA government after it came to power in May, except in the case of Mizoram Governor Kamala Beniwal who was removed as her conduct was not compatible with the high constitutional office.”
Referring to Mr. Qureshi’s controversial statement that heinous crimes such as rape could only be stopped by divine intervention, Mr. Goswami said it was in extremely poor taste. “I mentioned that the explanations were not satisfactory as his comments had created an uproar. In view of this, I had suggested that he may consider putting in his papers because the office of the Governor had been embroiled in needless controversies.”
Seeking the dismissal of the petition, Mr. Goswami said that except for a telephonic talk there was no communication asking the Governor to resign.
