Did Not Demand Resignations From Governors: Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi

TIR, New Delhi, 20 June 2014: Amid the ongoing row over state governors, Bharatiya Janata Party is now saying that it has not asked any governors to resign. This comes after several governors, claiming to be under pressure from the Centre, stepped down from the post. Several other governors adamant on not resigning, have said that received phone call from the Union Home Secretary Anil Goswami demanding they quit.

Party Vice President Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi denied all reports and said that the UPA-appointed governors have not been asked to resign. He said that there was a constitution regarding such matters and the government was taking steps accordingly. He also lashed out at the Congress for politicising the issue that does not exist.

Earlier reports have said that Goswami had called many UPA-appointed governors and demanded their resignations. Accordingly,in the past week or so, Uttar Pradesh governor B L Joshi and Chhattisgarh governor Shekhar Dutt have given up their positions.

The entire row started when it was reported that the new government was looking to replace governors, at least seven of them, whose term was to end in the following six months. Home Minister Rajnath Singh was cited as saying that the governors must quit on their own as they were not awarded the posts on merit.

It is believed that Karnataka’s HR Bhardwaj, Kamla Beniwal of Gujarat and Rajasthan’s Margaret Alva have been asked to resign. Furthermore, Kerala Governor Sheila Dikhshit and Maharshtra’s K Sankaranarayanan, who are also said to be under pressure, have refused to quit.

According to some reports, it is believed that the government might give green signal for investigating several scams. Sources say that governors allegedly involved in the scams should resign before the CBI inquiry begins. Inquiry into the AgustaWestland scam is slated tl begin soon. West Bengal Governors M K Narayana and B V Wanchoo of Goa have been accused in the scam.