Outgoing Jharkhand Governor says, “Since the EC’s letter, the government has started developmental work, which did not happen before.”
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DAYS AFTER being asked to take charge of the Maharashtra Raj Bhavan, Jharkhand Governor Ramesh Bais described Chief Minister Hemant Soren as a “very good leader” and said he did not disclose the contents of the Election Commission’s recommendation last year on Soren’s continuation as MLA over a mining case because he did not want to “destabilise” the government.
Speaking to reporters, Bais also claimed that the uncertainty caused by the EC’s letter prompted the state government to undertake development work on a war footing.
“I have seen Jharkhand getting destabilised several times in the past…I did not want uncertainty and this is why I did not share the EC’s recommendation. I had also communicated to CM Hemant Soren that he should instead focus on his work,” Bais said.
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“There is no time frame in which a Governor has to respond on issues, say for example in giving assent to several Bills. Similarly, I have been waiting for the right time…Now the ball is my successor’s court,” he said.
“There is no time frame in which a Governor has to respond on issues, say for example in giving assent to several Bills. Similarly, I have been waiting for the right time…Now the ball is my successor’s court,” he said.
On August 26 last year,reported that the EC, in its opinion shared with the Governor, found Soren guilty of misusing his position to allot a stone mining lease to himself last year — and recommended his disqualification as MLA under the Representation of the People Act, 1951. The Chief Minister heads the state’s mining department, and the lease allotment was later cancelled.
The Governor, however, did not officially disclose the contents of the EC’s confidential recommendation, which led to weeks of political uncertainty in Jharkhand at the time. “Now, since the EC’s letter, the government has started developmental work which did not happen before that,” Bais said.
The outgoing Governor, however, also criticised Soren’s government, saying the work culture in Jharkhand is not “conducive” for development work. Bais flagged law and order as a “big problem” that needs to be tackled if businesses have to come to Jharkhand.
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Asked about the several Bills he has returned to the state government citing various loopholes, Bais said: “I had returned the Excise Bill in the past because there was an attempt to protect officers and pass on accountability to, say, local workers who operate the shops… In the 1932 domicile Bill, what would happen with the employment of those whose names were not in records. In the past, the High Court had struck down a similar Bill (passed during Babulal Marandi’s tenure), so I had to think over it.”
He said there were also Bills with a “mismatch” between the English and Hindi versions.
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Asked about deteriorating Centre-state relations and allegations against him of inaction leading to political turmoil in Jharkhand, Bais said: “If someone is frightened of his own shadow, then what can I do… When I am a Governor, I am not a functionary of the BJP. Had that been the case, I would have invited BJP party workers frequently to the Raj Bhavan… I would have opened the (EC’s) letter… I work according to the Constitution and for the betterment of the state.”
