Gulab Chand Kataria’s appointment may help calm ‘sour’ CM-Governor ties in Punjab
Ruchika M Khanna
Chandigarh, July 28
The appointment of a new Punjab Governor may bring some respite from the on and off love-hate relationship between outgoing Governor Banwarilal Purohit and Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann.
New Governor Gulab Chand Kataria is expected to take oath on July 31, and will come here with the baggage of this sweet-sour relationship. However, on his part, Chief Minister Mann has said that he will be rolling out the red carpet for the new Governor. “I spoke to him this morning to congratulate him on his appointment as Governor of Punjab. I assured him of my full cooperation and I hope we work together,” he said.
Purohit ran parallel administration
If the governors do not infringe upon the constitutional rights of the elected governments, there will be no problem… In fact, he (Purohit) started running a parallel administration by taking along the DGP and the Chief Secretary on his border area visits when I had also announced my public programmes in Jalandhar. —Bhagwant Mann, Chief Minister
“If the governors do not infringe upon the constitutional rights of the elected governments, there will be no problem. I had nothing personal against the (outgoing) Governor. He (Purohit) is like my family elder, and I would always touch his feet when I met him. But our paths often clashed, leading to conflicts as he would create hurdles in the smooth functioning of the government. In fact, he started running a parallel administration by taking along the DGP and the Chief Secretary on his border area visits when I had also announced my public programmes in Jalandhar,” the CM said.
It may be mentioned that the one constant thing in over two-year rule of the Aam Aadmi Party in Punjab has been the rather tumultuous relation between the Governor and the Chief Minister.
Their relationship began to turn sour within a few months of the AAP government’s formation when the Governor undertook the first tour of border districts and publically decried the poor law and order condition in the state.
As time passed, the two sides developed differences over the appointment of vice-chancellors of state-run universities, convening of the Vidhan Sabha sessions and Bills remaining pending with the Raj Bhawan.
The outgoing Governor, known for his knowledge of the Constitution and other governance issues, also frequently questioned the government over the law and order situation, state of economy and the conduct of a minister. “He should have focussed on inaugurating seminars in universities and attending convocations,” said Mann.
At a public meeting at Jalandhar last week, the CM said how he could perform his duties when his government’s officers were with the Governor on his tour. “There can’t be two parallel streams of government. The government-appointed search panels would identify candidates for the selection of VCs, and he would reject all of them. Our committees only wanted Punjabis to be at the helm of affairs, because they know the ethos and culture of universities. I only objected to that. This said, with the new Governor, I am hopeful of good ties,” he added.
On outgoing Governor Purohit’s statement that he resigned because he felt that maybe the CM did not like him, Mann said how could he force the Governor to resign?
