Statement by Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu on the sacking of four governors

Congress-led government's action:
Anti-democratic and diabolical

The Bharatiya Janata Party strongly condemns the Congress-led government's decision to sack four governors, in a vindictive reversal of the healthy changes that the Vajpayee government had introduced in the appointment and functioning of governors. The BJP urges all democracy-loving forces in the country to raise their voice of protest against this reprehensible action.

It is well known that successive Congress governments in the past had misused and abused the gubernatorial office for the narrow political ends of the ruling party. It also frequently and willfully invoked Article 356 of the Constitution to dismiss democratically elected non-Congress governments in States and impose the President's rule. This was one issue on which all non-Congress parties, including the Communists and the DMK, have unanimously and severely criticized the Congress.

Indeed, the Sarkaria Commission on Centre-State relations devoted a major part of its recommendations to preventing the misuse of the office of the Governor by the ruling party at the Centre.

The BJP is proud that the Vajpayee government applied healthy correctives in this regard. These correctives were unanimously approved by the Inter-State Council in its meeting in New Delhi on 16th November 2001.

Not only is the sacking of the four governors wrong, but the political rationalization given by the Congress party is also pernicious. Congress functionaries have hinted that the RSS background of the four governors disqualifies them from occupying the gubernatorial office. I would like to ask the Congress party: "Is the RSS a banned organization? Is having an RSS background a crime? What about those with the Congress background or the Communist background?"

Indeed, I see a deeper and diabolical gameplan in the new government's decision. The Congress seems to be back to its old game of using the office of the Governor for advancing its nefarious strategy of toppling non-UPA governments in states like Goa, Gujarat, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.

In this contest, I would like to ask the Communist parties and the DMK to clarify their stand over the anti-democratic action taken by the UPA government. Their silence and acquiescence would expose them to the charge of opportunism. It is well known that both the DMK and the Communist governments in the past were victimized by the Congress regime at the Centre misusing the office of the governor.

Indeed, the first time the Congress wielded the axe to topple a duly elected non-Congress government was in Kerala in 1957, when Indira Gandhi had personally led the campaign against the Communist government led by late E.M.S. Namboodiripad. The Communist leaders should re-open their own countless resolutions, documents and articles condemning the Congress in the matter of appointment and functioning of governors.

The sacking of the four governors is only a part of the bigger design by the Congress-communist combine to distort democratic traditions, misuse democratic institutions and flout Constitutional norms in the coming days to promote the Congress party's narrow political ends. This is not only an attack on the sacked governors. What the Congress has begun is an assault on democracy.