CHANDIGARH: Bir Devinder Singh Former Deputy Speaker of Punjab Vidhan Sabha today in a statement said that the recent fracas between the Governor of Punjab Mr. V P Singh Badnore and the Chief Minister of Punjab Capt. Amarinder Singh a sad omen for Punjab.
He said that as per the constitutional provisions, The Governor of the State is a constitutional Head of the State and the Chief Minister undoubtedly an Executive head of the State. People of the State, having grievances against the political Governance could always meet the Governor and present their grievances. Numerous representations are sent the Governor by post or presented in person, then the office of the Governor within the constitutional frame work is expected, to seek report from the State Government or the department concerned, routinely. If the Governor of Punjab Mr. VP Singh Badnore has summoned the Chief Secretary and Director General of Police, Punjab for the appraisal of law & order situation in Punjab, the Governor has not committed any misdemeanor. But the overreaction of the Chief Minister in this matter manifests extreme arrogance besides intense imperious hubris . When the Chief Minister of the State is inaccessible and incommunicado for years together then the role of the Governor becomes much more significant and his imperative intervention is urgently needed for the welfare of the people of the State. The Chief Minister of Punjab has achieved the distinct solitary and outstanding administrative landmark, that he is yet to finalize and notified the slot for the Public on his daily engagement chart, even after the expiry of four years of his ‘Miss rule’.
He futher stated that the Governor of the State, does not require the permission of the Chief Minister to summon officers of the State of which he is the constitutional head. If a delegation of a political party has brought certain important issue to the notice of the Governor having consequence of law & order in the State; then to verify the facts he would only summon the officers concerned not the Chief Minister . It is immature for the Chief Minister Capt. Amarinder Singh to overdramatize the issue and unnecessarily overstretch the procedural matter by questioning the authority of the constitutional Head of the State. The Governor of the State is duty bound to send his periodical appraisal reports to the President of India on all the crucial developments of the State, particularly law & order. I am of the considered view that by summoning the Chief Secretary and DGP of the State to Raj Bhawan, the Governor has neither exceeded his constitutional brief nor even committed any act of savagery as ironically being made out by Capt. Amarinder Singh .
If Capt. Amarinder Singh could recall that on 24 October 2020, I raised a pertinent question on the violation of protocol norms in the Punjab Raj Bhawan while meeting senior parliamentarians of the State including MPs and MLAs, they were made to stand on the road, outside the main Gate of the Raj Bhawan, where Governor used to meet them. Capt. Amarinder Singh was so quick to ridicule me for raising question against the constitutional Head of the State, the Governor. I think the wisdom of the same sermon now apply to the Chief Minister to control his unrestrained anger and feudal hubris against the Governor.
Bir Devinder Singh said he wonder as to why ‘Captain’ did not react so furiously when both these officers in question, had gone to Ms. Aroosa Alam to express their gratitude for making their, out of turn promotions possible. Both these officers (Chief Secretary And the DGP) were seen skirted with Aroosa Alam in the middle in a video clip that went hugely viral on the social media, seeking blessings from Aroosa. Capt never reprimanded Aroosa Alam nor ‘his’ officers for seeking blessing from a private Pakistani National. Where was his decorum of appropriateness then, which is now bothering him so much, when the same officer couple was summoned by none else but the Governor of the State.