Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit has dismissed the criticism against him holding talks with the officials of the State Government asserting “at no place does the Constitution stop the Governor from seeking any such meeting”.
It may be recalled that the Governor, who was in Coimbatore on a two-day visit last week, chose to have a couple of meetings with the District Collector T.N. Hariharan, Commissioner of Police Amalraj and Corporation Commissioner Dr. Vijay Karthikeyan. Besides, he literally took the broom at the Coimbatore City Bus stand as part of Swachh Bharat Mission and even oversaw a mass cleaning programme.
His meeting with the officials triggered a furore and drew lot of fire from the opposition. As usual, they described it as an attempt by the BJP, the ruling party at the Centre, trying to rule Tamil Nadu also by proxy. Similar charge is leveled at Ms. Kiran Bedi, the Lt. Governor of Puducherry also. Consequently, the Chief Minister of Puducherry V. Naranayanaswamy, was one who joined the chorus against Tamil Nadu Governor.
Leader of the Opposition in the TN assembly, Mr. M.K. Stalin, even went to the extent of urging the people of Tamil Nadu to be ready to “save the autonomy” of the State.
While some Minister and leaders of the ruling AIADMK found nothing wrong in Governor’s action, some were openly vocal condemning it as “going beyond the brief meant for the Governor”.
In a late-night statement from Raj Bhavan, the Principal Secretary to Governor contended that attributing any “political agenda” to the Governor’s actions is "absolutely wrong and false based on the figment of imagination".
He asserted that all the actions of the Governor whether "big or small" would not have any political consideration.
The Principal Secretary pointed out that the Governor sought the legal opinion from a leading light in Chennai and learnt that “none of his actions seeking a meeting with the district officials in Coimbatore amounted to illegality or unconstitutionality”.
The purpose of such meetings with the district officials of Coimbatore was “not to subvert the authority of the State Government but to support their efforts in good governance”. Besides there was “no attempt to short-circuit the official channels or force a meeting. Everything was done according to norms”.
The release said “in our Constitution, there is no bar on the Governor’s action in seeking an appropriate connect with the people of the State”.
It also explained that such meetings were to get "first-hand knowledge of the development needs and problems faced by the people at the grassroots level".
The release also pointed out that even during his previous stint as Governor of Assam, “Mr. Purohit conducted such meetings in most districts of that State to everybody’s appreciation and while conducting such meetings the Governor never violated any law or the Constitution”.
The release made it clear that the Governor “will continue such efforts in Tamil Nadu also to fulfil his responsibilities as envisaged in the oath he has taken to dedicate himself in the service and the well-being of the people of Tamil Nadu”.