By replacing Governor Banwarilal Purohit, the Bharatiya Janata Party government at the centre appears to have extended an olive branch to the Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann. Mann and Purohit were not enjoying a cordial relationship for quite some time.
However, he was not the only Governor who did not get along well with the Chief Minister, as there are others like Arif Mohammad Khan of Kerala, RN Ravi of Tamil Nadu and CV Ananda Bose of West Bengal, all of whom have had acrimonious relationships with their respective Chief Ministers.
Purohit had tendered his resignation in February last, at that time, for unexplained reasons. Later he told reporters that he had submitted his resignation as he thought the Chief Minister Mann did not like him to continue as the Governor. That time his resignation had not been accepted, but was kept pending, as it was not rejected either.
Everything seemed to have settled down till the recent past when Purohit went for a tour to border areas along with the Chief Secretary and the Director General of Police. This was done without taking the Chief Minister into confidence.
The Chief Minister conveyed his disapproval in a not-so-subtle manner, saying the Governor was touring the state taking along all his officers.
Within a couple of days, the President of India accepted Purohit’s resignation which had been pending with her (the President) since February this year.
There were several bones of contention between Mann and Purohit. One of these was the appointment of the Vice Chancellors in the state universities in Punjab.
The Mann government had brought legislation divesting the Governor of the ex-officio position of the Chancellor of the universities and replacing him with the Chief Minister. The bill was returned by the President to the state without her assent.
Ponly reason for his replacement, as otherwise, there were two more years left of his term as the Governor.
urohit’s replacement, apparently over his strained relationship with the Chief Minister has come as a surprise. His relationship with the Chief Minister seemed to be the
Purohit was not the only Governor who did not enjoy a good relationship with the Chief Minister. Kerala Governor Arif Mohammad Khan is permanently in a state of war with the Communist government in Kerala.
The West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose has an equally acrimonious relationship with the Chief Minister Mamata Bannerjee. So much so, the Governor alleged that he was being falsely implicated in a sexual harassment case.
Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi also does not enjoy a very cordial relationship with the Chief Minister MK Stalin. IN fact the two have too much bitterness between themselves.
All the three Governors of Kerala, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu continue with their jobs, while Purohit has been singled out and replaced. Moreover, Purohit was not as aggressive as Khan or Ravi. Nor was he seen to be interfering in the government’s functioning in any way.
Punjab happens to be a border state with distinct and multiple challenges. The government of India apparently did not want there to be any confrontation between the Chief Minister and the Governor in this state. This can be one of the reasons for his premature replacement.
Also, compared to the Chief Ministers of West Bengal and Tamil Nadu, Mann has adopted a less confrontationist approach towards the BJP government at the centre. Barring his recent boycott of the NITI Ayog meeting, along with other INDIA bloc Chief Ministers, Mann has never taken a posture like that of Bannerjee or Stalin, which has mostly been hostile towards the centre.
At the same time, the Aam Aadmi Party at the national level has been one of the staunch and vocal critics and opponents of the BJP government. The AAP blames the BJP for witch-hunting against its leaders including the Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who continues to be in jail following the ED and CBI cases against him.
Under such circumstances, replacing the Governor of the state midway, despite nothing against him, comes as a surprise. The only reason appears to be that the centre wanted to extend an olive branch to the Chief Minister for whatever reasons.
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