Maharashtra Governor K Sankaranarayanan on Sunday sent his resignation letter to President Pranab Mukherjee after he was transferred to Mizoram by the Narendra Modi government.
Sankaranarayanan refused to divulge more details on his resignation saying, “I have to honour the Constitution.”
He added, “It is not possible for me to go to Mizoram. I have sent my resignation to the President today. From tomorrow onwards, I will be a free man.”
Sankaranarayanan, who is also a senior Congress leader, will return to active politics. He said, “As Governor, I was not in politics. I had friendly relations with every political party.”
If Sankaranarayanan’s resignation is accepted, he would become the sixth Governor, appointed by the previous UPA regime to step down after change of power at the helm.
Sankaranarayanan was appointed as the Mizoram Governor after Kamala Beniwal was sacked by the Union government earlier this month.
Sankaranarayanan thanked the people of Maharashtra for the support they extended to him during his tenure.
Asked whether the move is part of political vendetta, he said, “That is up to you people to comment about it. Our press people are so shrewd, so capable, so intelligent.”
“I actually supported the Constitution,” he said, adding, “We want the prestige and status of the governors in future also.
“In a democratic set up, no government is permanent… no post is permanent, that will change. Democracy is bigger than anything, we are one of the biggest democratic countries in the world,” he added.
Sankaranarayanan was among the first batch of governors telephoned by Home Secretary Anil Goswami to put in their papers after change of government at the Centre.
In an apparent bid to ease him out, the government shunted him to Mizoram after he had refused to quit.
A Rashtrapati Bhawan communique issued late last night had said that Sankaranarayanan has been shifted to Mizoram and Gujarat Governor OP Kohli has been asked to discharge his duties.
He has been serving as Governor of Maharashtra since January 22, 2010. He took oath as Governor of Maharashtra for a second time on May 7, 2012 after the President granted him a fresh term of five.
The Congress is likely to take up the issue and strengthen its case against the Narendra Modi government. Party leader Manish Tewari said, “It’s a very unfortunate incident. The way respected people are being ill-treated, BJP doesn’t believe in any tradition- sampradayak, loktantrik, parampara, doesn’t know how to respect people.”
