Banwarilal Purohit resigns as Punjab Governor citing ‘personal reasons’

Purohit has been holding the office since August 2021. His resignation comes days after the Chandigarh mayoral polls, in which the AAP raised allegations of rigging and moved the Supreme Court. The BJP swept the polls, retaining all three posts.

Earlier this week, the Ministry of Home Affairs had posted Rajeev Verma, an AGMUT cadre officer, as the Union Territory Adviser.

Purohit, a three-time MP (twice from the Congress, once from the BJP) from Nagpur, was earlier the Governor of Tamil Nadu and Assam.

In Punjab, his tenure was marked by frequent run-ins with the AAP government led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann. Shortly after the AAP came to power in Punjab, he shot off a series of letters to Mann seeking clarifications on several issues, even warning that he would recommend President’s Rule and launch criminal proceedings if his queries went unanswered.

On the other hand, Mann accused Purohit of delaying assent to crucial Bills passed by the Assembly, and his government even approached the Supreme Court. In November last year, the Supreme Court pulled up the Governor on the matter.

However, this Republic Day, Mann broke the ice and attended the ‘At Home’ function at Raj Bhavan, touching Purohit’s feet before shaking hands with him.

Among the issues that Purohit raised in his letters to Mann earlier were: drug abuse, illegal mining, law and order situation, selection criteria for government school teachers who were sent to Singapore for training, rising debt and borrowings by the AAP government, and the appointment of Dr S S Gosal as the Vice Chancellor of Punjab Agriculture University (PAU), Ludhiana.

After Purohit termed Gosal’s appointment as “illegal”, the AAP government brought The Punjab Universities Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2023, to remove him as ex-officio Chancellor of universities in the state. The Bill was passed by the Assembly, but kept on hold by Purohit along with two other Bills – The Sikh Gurudwaras (Amendment) Bill, 2023, and The Punjab Police (Amendment) Bill, 2023. He sent all the three Bills to the President for consideration.

Replying to Purohit’s letters in February 2023, Mann had posted on ‘X’: “I am answerable to 3 crore Punjabis and not to any Centre-appointed man.”

Later, while raising other issues, Purohit had said: “If you fail to provide any reply, I will be compelled to seek legal advice for further action as I am duty bound to protect the Constitution.”

The squabble further escalated last year, after the AAP accused Purohit of not responding to the Cabinet’s decision of convening the Budget Session, and knocked on the doors of the Supreme Court. The session was finally held in March.

Earlier, in October 2022, Purohit had questioned Mann’s absence from a reception he held in honour of President Droupadi Murmu. “No matter how occupied one is, I feel it is important to fulfil one’s constitutional responsibility,” he said in his address that day. Mann was on a day’s visit to then poll-bound Gujarat with AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal.

In June 2023, the Governor also objected to the CM calling him “vehla (an idler)”, a remark Mann made in the Assembly, and threatened legal action for “derogatory language”, including referring to his letters as “love letters”. The two also locked horns over Purohit using government helicopters to visit border areas. Purohit subsequently stopped using government choppers.

When contacted, Punjab AAP spokesperson Malwinder Singh Kang told The Indian Express: “One thing is very clear, that the BJP indulges in day-to-day interference through Governors in the states where it can’t form the government. In two-and-a-half years, the Punjab Governor did a lot of unconstitutional work on the directions of the Centre.”

“He also held the post of Chandigarh Administrator. And the way democracy was murdered in the mayoral elections of Chandigarh in broad daylight, with everything captured on camera, everyone felt this was extreme excess. I feel the Governor Sahib has resigned after listening to his conscience, that unconstitutional work cannot be done beyond a limit, which the BJP wants,” Kang said.

Confirming Purohit’s resignation, Punjab BJP president Sunil Jakhar said: “Yes, he has quit. The issues which he raised were really close to the heart of Punjab.”