Assam and Nagaland Governor Padmanabha Balakrishna Acharya (84) appears to be highly prone to controversies, and his latest alleged statement, “Hindustan is for Hindus” landed him in more controversy when he tried to clarify his stand and say that he was grossly misquoted on the first statement he had reportedly made while releasing a book in Guwahati two days ago. An old RSS expert on the Northeast, Acharya has been at loggerheads with Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi almost since he took charge in December 2014. [related-post] While Acharya first came under attack after he appointed four RSS-VHP members as Dibrugarh University Court members in July this year, his prompt reply was that since the RSS was not a banned organization, what was the harm in appointing persons who were interested in improving education? He next rubbed the All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) the wrong way when in September he said that, "there is nothing sacrosanct" about the Assam Accord. Last weekend’s utterances – according to him misquoted and partially used – however put him on headlines across the country, with Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi even demanding his removal. But while Acharya’s comments added fuel to the gradually subsiding wave of intolerance, CM Gogoi has separate reasons for hitting out at the governor. In March this year, Acharya criticized the state government for failing to stop rhino poaching in Kaziranga. In April he ordered a probe against Assam Agricultural University V-C KM Buzarbaruah for whose extension Gogoi had allegedly changed rules. In June he threatened a CBI probe against anomalies in the Assam Public Service Commission – all causing embarrassment to the Congress government. He also lambasted the government on poor roads as well as on alleged corruption. So irked was the chief minister that he not only sent a letter to the President on his alleged “pro-BJP role”, but also said he had not come across “such a governor” in his long political career. This Sunday, the APCC accused him of converting the Raj Bhavan into a “den” of the RSS. Acharya has also hit headlines on a couple of occasions for the wrong reasons in Nagaland. A Raj Bhavan handout issued on the occasion of Republic Day this year had shown a “Bharat Mata” figure standing on a lotus and holding the national flag, promting the Nagaland Pradesh Congress Committee to ask him to respect “secular” ideals especially in a state where Christians were in a majority. “The national personification of India as a mother goddess is revered and followed only by majority Hindus, while other religious minorities may respect the concept of Bharat Mata, but does not subscribe to this personification,” the NPCC had then said. Last week he drew flak from newspaper editors in Nagaland when he backed the Assam Rifles for its order against the media. Only Governor Acharya knows what else he has in store.
