Three days have passed since Hemant Soren, the CM of Jharkhand, submitted his resignation. However, Governor C.P. Radha Krishnan has not called anyone to form the new government or asked Soren to prove the majority on the floor of the house. It seems the governor went missing.
Before the resignation and arrest of Hemant Soren, Champai Soren’s name was proposed for the next Chief Minister of Jharkhand. According to the report, the allies of JMM, Congress, and RJD have also shown their agreement on Champai Soren’s name. But they are not being invited to form the government.
Due to the fear of foul play as done many times already in other states in recent years by the BJP-appointed governors, JMM, along with the legislators of Congress and RJD, are forced to parade the support of majority legislators on camera. But despite this, the governor is not calling them to form the government.
Politicization of the Governor’s office
Under this government, the office of the governor has been politicized at an extreme level. Even in normal situations, the governors in the opposition-ruled states keep meddling and heckling the popularly elected governments. The governors of Kerala, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, and Delhi are always in the news due to interference in the work of the government or legislature.
The partisan behavior of these governors is no longer executed delicately and subtly; they openly and explicitly do it.
A week has not passed since Nitish Kumar resigned as Mahagathbandhan CM and joined NDA in Bihar. He was invited by the Governor of Bihar on the same day of his resignation to take an oath. There was no foul play. The governor executed his responsibility quickly and swiftly, as expected. Indeed, Nitish Kumar had a clear majority with the support of his NDA allies and was thus immediately invited by the governor to form the government.
Similar is the situation where JMM, with the support of his allies, has shown the support of the majority of legislators, but the governor has gone missing.
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This has become the standard modus operandi of governors in opposition-ruled states these days. The inaction of the governor to form a new government despite a clear mandate from JMM and its allies is intended to poach legislators from these parties. It is akin to an open threat and intimidation by the central leadership of the BJP, which has mastered these amoral and constitutionally illegal activities.
Do you remember Devendra Fadnavis, who did not have a clear majority to form the government, but the governor of Maharashtra invited him to take the oath as the Chief Minister of the State. Such examples have been abundant in recent years after the BJP came to power in 2014.
Since Jharkhand is being ruled by a tribal party-led alliance, the governor is not acting to carry out his responsibility in a fair manner. This is a clear violation of constitutional provisions. But who cares?
