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Journalism of Courage
Is the Samajwadi Party’s tirade against Governor TV Rajeshwar Rao an attempt to take the sting out of his report on recent communal flare-up in Mau in Uttar Pradesh?
While the party leaders have been calling Rao a “stooge” of Congress president Sonia Gandhi, its general secretary Amar Singh today met President A P J Kalam and urged him to recall the Governor for being “partisan and partial”.
Speaking to mediapersons after the meeting, Amar Singh, who led the party’s parliamentary delegation, denied that they discussed the Governor’s report with the President. ‘‘We only hope the Governor has not submitted a selective report,’’ he said.
Lashing out at Sonia and saying that he will not be surprised if she appoints Rao as a Pradesh Congress chief, Singh added, ‘‘The recent events in Goa, Jharkhand and Bihar have once again shown that the Congress treats Governors as its stooges.’’ Listing out various instances of the Governors’ alleged impropriety, Singh said, ‘‘The Governor’s office is being denigrated because of such conduct and as a representative of the President, he is guilty of breaching the high standards set by him. So we appealed to the President to recall him.’’
The confrontation between the Mulayam Singh Yadav government and the Governor hit a new high after clashes in Mau on Dussehra. Despite the state government’s plea that politicians and constitutional heads should not visit the district, Governor Rao went to Mau on October 22, 10 days after violence broke out.
The high-profile visit was prompted by a keen interest shown by the Prime Minister’s Office in keeping the communal tension under control.
The Governor refused to comment if he was satisfied with the Mulayam government’s report on the riots. There were also reports that he might submit a report criticising the government’s inadequate response to the riots, like he had done after visiting Gorakhpur when Japanese Encephalitis broke out.
