There146;s a governor

Yes, it is good to hear the governor finally speak. But it is impossible not to quarrel with what he said. What was the provocation, pray, to certify Gujarat8217;s poll-preparedness in this moment? And why must the governor suddenly deem it his business to do so? Bhandari8217;s pronouncements must be seen in a context. Though the state is scheduled to go to the hustings only early next year, sections of the Gujarat BJP have been straining at the leash in the aftermath of the communal carnage. Their argument has been that the BJP must electorally encash the polarisation it has presided over in the state and that it must lose no time in doing so. The objective obviously is to ride back to power on the slogan of 8216;Hindu pride8217; and 8216;Gujarat asmita8217; the gruesome violence in the state has presumably affirmed. But the Narendra Modi cabinet, sometime ago, and for reasons not entirely known, deferred the decision to advance the polls. Further, the Election Commission, whose job it really is to assess when elections can be held, indicated its apprehensions about holding early elections in Gujarat. In this situation, why has Bhandari taken it upon himself to hold aloft the green signal? When he has been reticent on so many other matters that called for him to assert his constitutional presence in the state, it is surely telling that he should choose to speak up on this issue.

Bhandari didn8217;t come to Gujarat with a clean slate. His tenure as the Bihar governor earlier was marred by accusations of crossing the line. Now by speaking out of turn, he continues to court controversy. Bhandari would do better to bring the dignity of his office to bear on advancing the healing process in the state, instead of the ruling party8217;s cause.