Food for thought: Manipur sans a State Governor

Thoudam Imomacha Singh *

Raj Bhavan, Imphal where Manipur State Governor resides on 15th August 2014 :: Pix - Deepak Oinam

A Governor is the constitutional head of the State executive, as such he is bound to act on the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers of the state concerned (Art. 163). The Constitution of India contains provisions for the governance of the Union and its Units i.e. the States.

It provides a uniform structure for the State Government in Part VI of the Constitution which is applicable to all the States except Jammu & Kashmir, which is having a Constitution of its own. Whereas the pattern of Government in the States is the same as that for the Union i.e. a parliamentary system.

The executive power of the state is vested in the Governor and all the executive action has to be taken in the name of the Governor. Originally, there shall be a Governor for each State, but the Constitution (7th Amendment) Act, 1956 allows the appointment of the same person as Governor for two or more States (Art. 153). A State Governor's post is not an elective one, but he is appointed by the President of India.

To be more precise, a State Governor does not have diplomatic or military powers similar to that of the President of India. A Governor is not given the power to appoint Judges of High Court except being a consultative personage.

Although inimical in India, calling it the British legacy, the Institution of State Governor is a time-tested functionary in the sense that the administration of a state could be carried out smoothly by a Council of Ministers headed by a Chief Minister with a sense of satiety.

Apart from politicking and party politics the role of a Governor is to sanitize the governance of the State by acting himself as the guide, the philosopher to the State Government.

The State Governor is a dignitary acting as the Agent of the Government at the Centre. The State Government may not belong to the political party which is in power at the Centre.

However, the responsibility of the State Governor is to streamline the functioning of the State Government to the best of his ability. As we all know, there are 28 full-fledged states in the Union of India and another 6 Union Territories and the National Capital territory of Delhi. They all need their Governors, Lt. Governors or Administrators, whatsoever it is called or designated.

\Since the beginning of this year, as soon as the Modi dispensation had taken over at the Centre, after the recall of V.K. Duggal as State Governor of Manipur, the Imphal Raj Bhavan has been lying vacant except the occasional sojourn of the Governor of another State, who is given additional charge for Manipur.

Now, India has the NDA Government at the helm of affairs at the Centre with Narendra Modi as the Chief Executive. In the North East, Assam and Manipur are included in the remnants of Congress ruled states after the 2014 poll debacle. Modi used to praise the North East with fine-tuned expressions like "Go East" in place of "Look East" etc. etc.

Frequent visits of Central Ministers to the North East is a part of Modi's action plan. But now, what is transparent is lip-service is more than the actual service. A State Governor is a reliable political Institution through which the political relationship between the Centre and the State could be assessed.

The Ibobi Government in Manipur, has every right to have its own constitutional top brass, at Imphal Raj Bhavan. It seems the Centre had denied a judicious right to the State Government of Manipur. The State Government may also be having political and administrative predicaments from time to time due to the absence of a State Governor.

On top of this, a vacant Raj Bhavan is just like a Vatican without a Pope and it is an utter disrespect meted out to the people of Manipur, and a frivolous act on the part of the Centre. So far as Narendra Modi functioning as Prime Minister, he seems to have a practical sense of mind.

But, the utterances of some of his Ministers are venomous. As an instance the recent statement of Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh that "BJP does not have a majority in the Rajya Sabha, so this time it is not possible to bring a motion in the Parliament to make law for construction of Rama Temple".

The statement is both unconstitutional and undemocratic.

Pertaining to this, author would like to quote ––
"Democracy in any sense, cannot be established unless certain minimal rights, which are essential for a free and civilized existence, are assured to every member of the community. The Preamble mentions these essential individual rights as freedom of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship and these are guaranteed against all authorities of the State by Part-III of the of the Constitution (vide Arts. 19, 25-28)".

Just to drive his point home, the author would like to suggest that Manipur must not be deprived the privilege of having a diligent State Governor. The sooner would be the better.