Aziz Qureshi fails to break Mizoram jinx: State gets six governors in 9 months

Bhopal: Mizoram Governor Aziz Qureshi’s feud with the Centre has ended in defeat, but few expected him to win. The man from Bhopal had during his last visit to the city jocularly told some friends, “Either I will fix the office or the office will fix me.” It needed just a terse one line communication from the Rashtrapati Bhawan to end Qureshi’s tenure who had approached the Supreme Court against attempts to ease him out. The NDA government had turned picturesque Mizoram into a punishment posting for the governors who refused to accept former Union Home Secretary Anil Goswami’s advice to go without protest. Qureshi claimed Goswami had repeatedly called him to resign. Goswami in his reply before the court argued that he had, with authority and justification, “suggested” to Qureshi to consider resigning on his own since his actions were not “behoving the status of the Governor” and showed the constitutional office in “very poor light” apart from “bringing it into disrespect”. Allegations of impropriety and irregularities were levelled against Qureshi during his tenure in Uttarakhand. The Centre apparently believes there is little the apex court can do about it.However, Qureshi remains hopeful. “All these charges are absolutely baseless… all bogus. I have faith in the Supreme Court,” he had said. [caption id=“attachment_2180543” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Qureshi still is hoping for relief from the Supreme Court. PTI image[/caption] Qureshi, whose tenure was to last till May 2017, has failed to break the Mizoram jinx. The state has seen six governors in the past nine months. It began last July with V Purushottam who quit after the Modi government shifted him there from neighbouring Nagaland without consulting him.Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s bête noir, 87-year-old Kamla Beniwal, followed him and was sacked shortly after the NDA government assumed office. Former Maharashtra Governor K Sankaranarayanan, who was also transferred to Mizoram, preferred to quit rather than take charge in Aizawl. VK Duggal, who was given additional charge of Mizoram after Beniwal, quit within 20 days. KK Paul, who held additional charge of Mizoram along with Meghalaya, was transferred to Uttarakhand to replace Qureshi. Other governors like MK Narayanan (West Bengal), Ashwani Kumar (Nagaland), BL Joshi (UP), Shekhar Dutt (Chhattisgarh) and BV Wanchoo (Goa) chose to go after they received the call from the Home Secretary. The irony is that several UPA-appointed governors have been removed though there were no grave charges against them. They had to make room for the NDA favourites. But Madhya Pradesh Governor, Ram Naresh Yadav, who faces charges under Section 420 (cheating) of Indian Penal Code and Prevention of Corruption Act has managed to stay put in the office. In a rare instance, an FIR was lodged against Yadav for alleged involvement in the state professional examination board recruitment scam. The controversial death of Yadav’s son, Shailesh, brought the nation’s focus back on the case. Shailesh, an accused in the Vyapam scam, was evading interrogation by special task force (STF). Yadav was flown from the critical care unit of a hospital in Bhopal to attend the funeral in Lucknow. It would be inopportune to discuss the merits of Yadav’s case but it reveals how political expediency overrides all other considerations in deciding such matters. Ironically, while the Congress in Madhya Pradesh is demanding the UPA appointee’s resignation, the ruling BJP is not pressing for it as the governor’s departure would lend substance to the Congress charges against chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. The High Court will decide on 14 April whether Yadav could face legal action while in office. At one point it was feared that he would have to put in his papers soon after inaugurating the budget session of the state assembly and present himself to be arrested. As we watch the governors’ merry-go-round the NDA government is grappling with eight vacancies in various Raj Bhavans. At least three current governors hold additional charge of other states. It reflects either on the NDA government’s indecision or the lack of importance it gives to the governor’s office. Assam, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Manipur Meghalaya, Mizoram, Telangana and Tripura await the arrival of their first citizen. The government is expected to take a call on the issue in the second week of April. The BJP’s national executive committee which meets in Bangaluru on 3 and 4 April will discuss the prospective candidates. Names of former Madhya Pradesh chief minister, Kailash Joshi and the Union Minister Najma Heptullah are said to be under consideration.