"I received a communication as well as a message from Rashtrapati Bhavan about my transfer to Mizoram. I have expressed my inability to take up the new assignment. I have submitted by resignation to President Pranab Mukherjee," Sankaranarayanan told media persons.
Stating that he was overwhelmed by the love and affection given by the people of Maharashtra, octogenarian Sankaranarayanan said now he was a free man and will work for the Congress from Monday. "Now, I am a free man, no protocol formalities. In fact, after 24 hours, my tongue will be two inches longer, so that there will be no restrictions for expressing views," he said.
Significantly, in his brief interaction with the reporters after he sent his resignation to the Rastrapati Bhavan, Sankarana rayanan not even once criticized either Prime Minister Narendra Modi or the NDA government for his abrupt transfer. "It's the prerogative of the centre. In my opinion, since the post of the governor is a constitutional post, the prestige and status of the gubernatorial post must be maintained," he said.
Sankaranarayanan said ever since he took over the gubernatorial assignment on February 3, 2007, as the governor of Nagaland, he never indulged in political activities. "I never played politics. I was always impartial, I was friendly with all parties, including the Congress, NCP, BJP and Shiv Sena. No one can say that I was partial," he said.
Sankaranarayanan was the first governor to lodge a strong protest against home secretary Anil Goswami's message, asking him to resign. Goswami had telephoned to the governor on June 11 asking him to quit. Then the governor had taken the view that it was wrong on the part of the home secretary to ask a governor to resign, since had absolutely no authority.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi (left) being received by the Maharashtra governor K Sankaranarayanan on his arrival at Mumbai Airport, on July 21, 2014. Also seen is Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan (2nd from right). (TOI file photo)
"The governor is appointed by the president of India, it's a constitutional post, as such, any decision for the removal or transfer of a governor has to be communicated by the president only," he had observed on June 15. Following a firm stand taken by Sankaranarayan, most of the governors, who were on the hit list of the PMO took an identical view and refused to oblige.
Sankaranarayanan was first appointed as governor of Nagaland on February 3, 2007 and shifted to Jharkhand on July 26, 2009 and January 12, he took over as the governor of Maharashtra on January 22, 2010. When his term ended on April 28, 2012, he was appointed for a fresh term of five years.
K Sankaranarayanan at the Raj Bhavan in Mumbai, on October 18, 2013. (TOI file photo by Ashish Raje)
As a governor of Maharashtra, he was friendly with leading politicians and was the most accessible governor the state had seen in the recent past. As a chancellor of the universities, he was instrumental in appointing 20 vice-chancellors.
In his entire tenure, the only controversial decision he took was that he refused permission to CBI to prosecute former chief minister Ashok Chavan on the ground that there was no adequate evidence against him.
While the State Congress has condemned his transfer, saying, it was a humiliation, senior Shiv Sena and BJP leaders to expressed shock and surprise over his abrupt transfer. "We never expected that since his term was to expire in April 2017, we never expected that he will be shunted out in such a manner," a Congress leader said.
http://ift.tt/1woz6oi of UPA-Appointed Governors,Sankaranarayan an Resignation,Maharashtra Governor's Resignation,K Sankaranarayanan
via Top Stories - Google News http://ift.tt/1vAU3Is
Put the internet to work for you.
No comments:
Post a Comment