The recent well founded observations by the Supreme Court on the controversial dissolution of the Bihar assembly should be an eye opener not only to Bihar Governor Buta Singh but to all Raj Bhavans. It is expected that the Supreme Court will rap the knuckles of the Bihar Governor and the Central Government hard enough to ensure that the pains are felt for some time to come.
We cannot blame Buta Singh. How can a person, most of whose life has been submerged in politics, be expected all of a sudden to be non-partisan? Merely because there was a possibility of horse trading was not a valid reason to dissolve an assembly whose MLAs had not even taken the oath. The flesh trade may be the world's oldest profession but political horse-trading is here to stay. And Goa leads the way. Our MLAs have taken up the roles of political scientists and have been inventing the ways and means to meet the political ends by ensuring that the manner of horse trading while circumventing the anti defection statue holds the test of law. President Abdul A.P.J Kalam who was in Moscow at the time of signing the controversial notification should have withheld consent and applied his scientific mind to do some research on the Bihar situation by asking the Bihar Governor some relevant questions. In Goa we had Mohammad Fazal who instantly dissolved the Goa Assembly on 27th February 2002 without application of mind. He put his signature to the dissolution in such haste even before the Opposition parties could reach the gates of Raj Bhavan. That one signature cost the Goa exchequer crores of Rupees by way of a mid term poll. Maybe Mohammed Fazal will reflect this while he pens his memoirs from the retirement mansion in which he is now living and ideally located just a kilometre away from Goa's Raj Bhavan. I sometimes think that Mohammad Fazal should have been gracious enough to accommodate in his mansion Kidar Nath Sahani his successor in Goa who cried poverty saying he had nowhere to go when he was booted out of Goa's Raj Bhavan. The time has come to review the way our Governors are appointed. Today when the people's trust and faith in politicians is very low, it is imperative that we have non-partisan Governors of the highest repute to safeguard the interest of the common man when the politicians slip. Governors cost the taxpayer a very sizeable chunk and cash-strapped India cannot afford to support and encourage rubber stamp Governors who hesitate to perform duties as enshrined by the Indian Constitution. One suggestion would be that the President of India should have an advisory panel to suggest a panel of names that could make it to the helm of Raj Bhavans. The advisory panel could be comprised of the Chief of the three wings of India's defence forces, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Governor of the Reserve Bank of India and the Chairman of the Union Public Service Commission. May be this would pave for a wider discussion whether the President and Vice President should be elected by the collegiate of Governors so that we make sure a retired politician does not make it to Rastrapati Bhavan and carry the excess bag age there as some Presidents have done in the past. It is time that Governors play a vibrant role in contributing ideas and vision to cure India's ills. A Governor's post should not be a retirement gift to a party loyalist at the taxpayer's expense and the taxpayer should not be burdened to satisfy the Governor's whims and desires. There should be consensus within all parties that people with skills and administrative acumen be posted as Governors. Healthy and non-senile retired Judges or senior officers of the various Administrative Services and armed forces should be considered to do justice to the Governor's role. No government should ever appoint partisan Governors and a Raj Bhavan should never be used as a place to emanate the ideology or mission of any political party. Governors should not be mere symbolic rubber stamps. They have a very important constitutional role and obligation to fulfill. Let us stop making Raj Bhavan a retirement home and a reward for aged and ailing party activists. Former Chief Ministers, Union Ministers and State Party presidents should never make it to the Raj Bhavan as they are bound to carry the political stink and aroma to a high position where the incumbent is supposed to be non partisan and uphold the constitutional provisions. Its time also that the expenses incurred by Raj Bhavan's come under the scanner of the Chief Auditor General. With our country never short of natural calamities every effort has to cutback on unnecessary and avoidable expenditure. And Raj Bhavans should lead by example. In Goa we need all the resources possible to deal with the very serious garbage crisis. A problem that should have been attended to two decades ago. But those in power for selfish reasons preferred to focus on converting Goa's greenery and fields into concrete jungles. And the garbage has now been for us to live and deal with. Aires Rodrigues ___________________________________________________________ Yahoo! Messenger - NEW crystal clear PC to PC calling worldwide with voicemail http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com