Appointment politics

Though India does not have a tradition that calls for a change of guard at the gubernatorial level whenever there is a change of guard at the Centre, the six Governors who have put in their papers are setting a welcome trend. Of late, Raj Bhavans 8212; and high commissions and embassies overseas, of course 8212; have come to be seen as convenient parking slots for politicians who have suffered reverses and bureaucrats who should have been put out to grass. In the recent past, there has been the particularly flagrant case of Romesh Bhandari, a career bureaucrat who was accommodated in Lucknow because he had his uses for his political masters. Krishnapal Singh of Gujarat, who has put in his papers, has not enjoyed a distinguished tenure either. Earlier, there was the equally disturbing case of Chenna Reddy, who caused something of a crisis in Tamil Nadu with his differences with Jayalalitha.

In the Indian system there should have been no need for such resignations following political changes at the Centre. That ismore appropriate to the Presidential form of government, where such officials would necessarily be political appointees. However, the efficacy of the governor8217;s post depends more on its dignity than any legal sanction from the Constitution. A governor may well use Constitutional safeguards to retain his seat after he has lost the confidence of the body politic but for all operations purposes, he will have lost his authority. Unfortunately, a not inconsiderable number of governors, most of whom were political appointees, have managed to do precisely that over the years. In fact, the authority of the very office of the governor has been slowly eroded to the extent that governors have had to face hostile audiences during their customary address to the House. Such a situation would have been unimaginable to the framers of the Constitution. Clearly, the office now needs to regain its dignity if it is to remain effective.

That can happen only if political considerations cease to be a factor in the appointment ofgovernors. The Constitution calls for the appointment of persons of eminence to these posts. In other words, they must be people who are thought highly of by society at large. The appreciation of a small coterie which happens to be in power is not a sufficient qualification. In other words, a career bureaucrat who has done yeoman service in maintaining the integrity of the steel frame cannot be considered as a candidate. To be in the running, he must also have worked enough for the public good to have won public admiration, or to have exhibited an understanding of what constitutes the national interest that is beyond the mundane. If his qualities are any less, his tenure cannot but detract from the dignity of his office. The government must bear this in mind when replacing the governors who have quit, and while filling the posts where tenures have already ended or are about to end. Similarly, it must stop rehabilitating its near and dear ones in Indian embassies. The posts of ambassador and high commissionerbelong to career diplomats. Eminent citizens can be allowed to take them over only at the expense of the regular cadre.