The utility of a politically vested governor (particularly if he is incongruous to the concerned state government) has been contested for long.
Amid multiple controversies brewing, the calls for removing the current TN governor has gained significant strength.
What is the role of the Governor?
Constitutional - Governor is the bridge between the concerned state government and the union government.
The office needs to be above politics to maintain neutrality and deserve the trust all concerned political parties and people.
He is the nominal executive head of the concerned state and exercises certain functions in accordance with the Constitution.
The Governor will normally be aided and advised by the Council of Ministers except in those functions which specifically calls for his discretion.
State Laws - Governor also enjoys statutory powers under laws made by the state legislatures (which can also be modified by the concerned legislatures).
For example, Govener functions as ex-officio Chancellor of some universities through university specific laws like “Anna University Act - 1978”.
The reason for such conferment is to ensure that the university administration and finances come under stricter and high profile supervision.
In his capacity as chancellor, as the Governor is bound by state laws, it implicitly means that he has to work on the advice of the council of ministers.
Significantly, this was even iterated in some of the previous Supreme Court pronouncements in landmark cases like “Samsher Singh vs. Punjab - 1974”.
What are the TN Governor’s misgivings?
The Governor has also been conducting “review meetings” with officials across the state, which is an over-reach of his Constitutional duties.
The appointment of a vice-chancellor to Anna University without consulting the state government is also a blatant violation of law.
The Scandal - Recently, an assistant professor was found to be involved coercing her college students into an allegedly high profile sex-racket.
Leaked voice tapes had actually even indicated the involvement of some form within the governor’s office – which was a shocker.
In this backdrop, in an unprecedented over-reach into the state government’s domain, the governor commissioned an enquiry into the episode.
Hence, when a press briefing was called for by the governor, it was thought that he would clarify the legal basis for his actions.
Suspicion - Once the media interactions began, it became amply clear that he was ill prepared to handle the barrage of questions that were hurled at him.
His only counter point to the accusations against of his alleged involvement in the controversy was that he was really old for such mis-deeds.
Professionalism - At the end of the press interaction, the Governor patted a woman journalist in her cheek instead of replying to a question of hers.
This was perceived as “sexually inappropriate, paternalistic and unprofessional” and promted outrage.
Signficantly, the governor had later clarified that it was merely a grandfatherly affection and had apologised for the same, but that didn’t cut ice.
How does the future look?
Due to the multiple controversies that the Governor has courted, many political parties have called for removal (or voluntary resignation).
But the Governor is expected to braze the storm with stubbornness due the strong political backing that he seems to be enjoying from the ruling quarters.
Significantly, the Supreme Court has specified multiple clauses for the removal of a Governor and “Unprofessional Conduct” is one of them.
