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A dramatic decision by Governor N Ravi Kumar has created a constitutional crisis in Tamil Nadu. After the sacking of Minister Senthil Balaji, questions are being raised on the responsibility of the Governor. However, this is not the first time that a Governor is in controversy regarding his constitutional responsibility.
Be it Bihar Governor Buta Singh in 2005 or Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari in 2019, everyone’s decisions put the responsibility of the Governor under question. The post of Governor has been created in the federal structure of the Constitution and is appointed by the President on the recommendation of the Ministry of Home Affairs.
According to a report of the Ministry of Home Affairs, an average of Rs 10 lakh per month is spent on the salary and allowances of a Governor. If seen annually, this amount is around 1 crore 20 lakhs. Apart from this, hundreds of employees are hired to work in Raj Bhavan, on which crores are spent.
Unconstitutional decisions of governors costing taxpayers crores of rupees have sparked new debates in recent years. West Bengal minister Shobhandeb Chatterjee has demanded abolition of the post of Governor. In 2016, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar also demanded its abolition.
In such a situation, let us know in detail the controversy over the post of Governor and its need…
Why the conflict between the Governor and the government in Tamil Nadu?
Senthil Balaji is the Transport Minister in the MK Stalin government of Tamil Nadu. He was arrested by the ED on June 14 in the ‘cash for job’ scam. At that time, Stalin sent a proposal to the governor, asking that Senthil’s portfolio be given to another minister.
Rejecting this proposal of the Chief Minister, after 15 days, the Governor issued an order to dismiss Minister Balaji from the cabinet. When the matter caught fire, the governor issued another order stating that the governor had withdrawn his decision.
According to Supreme Court lawyer Virag Gupta, the governor had issued a notification of dismissal to the first minister and is now talking about reinstatement. How can this be possible? To restore the minister, now the process of appointment and oath will have to be adopted afresh.
The post of Governor and its responsibility in the Constitution of India
The post of Governor in India is a constitutional post. According to Article 153 of the Constitution, there will be a Governor for each state of the Republic of India. The President appoints the Governor on the recommendation of the Center. The tenure of the Governor depends on the President.
According to former President Ramnath Kovind, the governor plays the role of a bridge between the center and the states. The Governor has got financial, legislative, executive and judicial powers. The Governor also has the right to form the government on the basis of majority, to convene the assembly and to recommend dissolution of the assembly.
The Governor is the Vice-Chancellor of all the universities of the state. The Governor also appoints the Advocate General of the State, the Chairman and members of the Public Service Commission. The Finance Bill cannot be introduced in the Legislative Assembly without the permission of the Governor. No bill becomes law without the assent of the Governor.
According to Virag Gupta, the governor is the representative of the center in the federal system. It is clearly stated in the constitution that the governor should take any decision only on the advice of the cabinet. Therefore, the role of the governor becomes limited in a majority government.
Expenditure on salary and allowances, a report…
For the decoration of the Raj Bhavan- The governor also gets money for the decoration of the Raj Bhavan. That’s why there are different provisions state-wise. According to the rules, the Governor can get the furniture of the Raj Bhavan renewed when it is needed.
(Source- MHA)
Bihar has maximum provision of money for decoration. The governor of Bihar can spend up to Rs 62 lakh on decorations. Sikkim’s Raj Bhavan has the lowest budget allocation, where the governor can spend only Rs 3,85,000.
If the average of rupees spent on decorations is seen then it is close to 10 lakhs. Many governors spend it within a year itself. Many governors have been involved in controversies regarding spending on the decoration of the Raj Bhavan. These include the name of former UP Governor Romesh Bhandari.
Lakhs spent in the name of entertainment and tour- The governor also gets allowances for entertainment, tour, health etc. This allowance is given annually. This expenditure has been kept in the list of certain matters in the rules.
West Bengal spends the most in entertainment, tour, health and office expenses etc. In Bengal, the governor can spend Rs 1 crore 81 lakh annually on this item. If the average of all the states is seen, then an average of 60 lakh rupees is spent on this item on the governor, that is, 5 lakh rupees in a month.
Allowances for water, electricity and garden etc- The governor also gets allowances for water, electricity, garden, repairing etc. This allowance for renovation, water, electricity and garden etc. is called maintenance allowance.
Most of all, the Governor of Tamil Nadu gets this allowance. The Governor of Tamil Nadu can spend a maximum of 6 crores. While the Governor of UP gets Rs 3.53, the Governor of Maharashtra gets Rs 1.80 crore.
If seen on an average, a governor gets a maintenance charge of Rs 50 lakh in a year. Means about 4.5 lakh rupees in a month. Apart from all this, the Governor gets a salary of Rs 3.5 lakh per month. The total pay allowance is more than Rs 12 lakh on an average.
Is the post of governor redundant?
In April 2023, CPI’s Rajya Sabha MP Vinoy Viswam had demanded the abolition of the post of Governor as unnecessary. Viswam had also given notice of the private bill. Vishwam says- The post of governor is a burden. It is decorative and has no real power.
Vishwam describes the Raj Bhavan as the camp office of the ruling party at the Centre. According to him, people are being made governors to fulfill the agenda of the Centre.
According to research, out of 503, 77 governors were made retired military officers and judges. All the rest of the governors became people associated with politics. At present, 20 out of 28 governors have been associated with the ruling party at the Centre.
During the hearing of a case in 2006, the Supreme Court had talked about setting guidelines regarding the appointment of the Governor.
Recently Vidhi for Center Policy has published a book titled Heads Held High: Salvaging State Governors for 21st Century India. According to authors Shankar Narayanan, Kevin James and Lalit Panda in the book, abolishing the post of Governor can also create many constitutional problems.
The governor also reviews the laws of the state assembly along with making harmony between the center and the state. If this responsibility is given to someone else then a constitutional crisis will arise.
On the other hand, Virag Gupta says- If the Governor takes a decision according to the constitution, then there will be no dispute. Even in the meeting of the Constituent Assembly, after the debate on the post of Governor, his limited role and his powers in special circumstances were fixed.
At that time Dr. Ambedkar had said that the superiority of the constitution will depend on the conduct of the people running it. That’s why it is more important than the review of the post of Governor to follow healthy traditions.
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