Hyderabad: The Communist Party of India (CPI) has sought abolition of the post of state governors, calling it an outdated system wherein people holding the position misuse office and overstep their limits.
“Post of Governors should go. Sometimes it (the post of Governors) is for retired officers. Now, all sorts of funny fellows are becoming Governors. The people who should be put in museums by RSS are being put in Raj Bhavans. That’s the problem,” CPI General Secretary S Sudhakar Reddy said.
“Now, it’s high time to think about it. The system itself should be abolished. It’s very much misused these days,” he told PTI.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had also last week pitched for abolition of Governor’s post, saying the existing federal democratic structure did not warrant its continuance.
Speaking on the Arunachal Pradesh issue, Reddy said even after the Supreme Court judgement, Governor Tathagata Roy had the “audacity to ask the Chief Minister to prove his majority within 48 hours”, and termed his action as “idiotic”.
He alleged Governors have become like a “counter-check” on the democratically elected government in various states and most of them do not understand their limitations.
The Governor’s office is a “lavish, useless extravaganza” (financial burden) on state governments.
“It is an outdated system which the British had introduced. In some places, they become so controversial that they try to replace elected Chief Ministers,” he said.
“In recent period, some of them are talking nonsense also…RSS people. Even during earlier Congress regimes, we were of the opinion the Governor’s post was more ornamental,” the CPI leader said.
Reddy suggested some mechanism to replace the post of Governor.
“Government should come out with some sort of proposal and we can discuss about it,” he said.
Meanwhile, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said, “I am all for having a transparent system of Governors. I am all for having a system of Governors through a broader consultative process, involving may be the Vice-President or the President and Prime Minister, and Leader of Opposition.
–PTI