The Hindu : Opinion / Letters to the Editor : President's appeal

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Thursday, Jun 16, 2005

Opinion

Opinion - Letters to the Editor

President's appeal

President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam's appeal to Governors to discharge their duties according to the Constitution and rise above partisan politics is significant. But for this to happen, the appointment of Governors should undergo a change. The post has become a reward for retired politicians and those defeated in elections. The State Governments use the Governors for addressing the opening sessions of the Assembly. At other times, the Governor is inaugurating seminars and party functions. The people hardly get a glimpse of the "mission of righteousness" the President is attributing to the office. It is for the political parties to respond to his call and help to restore the dignity of the office.

R. Raghavendra,
Bangalore

President Kalam's wise counsel deserves praise. But to act non-partisan, Governors need job security. To ensure that, the practice of treating the Raj Bhavan as an abode of spent politicians should end.

K.R.P. Gupta,
Mumbai

When a party comes to power, it replaces Governors for obvious reasons. As long as this practice exists, it will be difficult for Governors to rise above party politics. In Mr. Kalam, we have a President without party affiliation. Can we not have non-partisan Governors too?

T.R. Viswanathan,
Bangalore

Instead of reminding the Governors of the sanctity of their office, Mr. Kalam could have emphasised the need to select Governors from among those who have no party affiliation. As he has come from a non-political background, he is the right person to moot such a proposal. Unless the practice of appointing politicians is dispensed with, any number of conferences will serve only as rituals.

M.A. Hakeem,
Hyderabad

Experience shows that the constitutional provisions are insufficient to deliver the desired results. With Governors reluctant to change their style of functioning, the alternative is to amend the Constitution to withdraw the unlimited discretion and absolute immunity granted to them, and to enforce accountability for their actions and inaction. But today's legislators are tomorrow's Governors. Who will amend the Constitution?

P.R.V. Raja,
Pandalam, Kerala

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