WITH Jharkhand Governor Ramesh Bais being shifted to Maharashtra on Sunday, at least two former Chief Election Commissioners (CECs) said it was “unethical” and “unprecedented” that he had not made public the poll panel's August 2022 opinion in the office of profit matter against Chief Minister Hemant Soren till now. Bais, who took over as Jharkhand Governor in 2021, had sought the EC's opinion on a complaint filed by state BJP members demanding Soren’s disqualification from the Assembly for allegedly misusing his position and allocating a mining lease to himself in 2021, when he was in charge of the mining and forest department. The EC had communicated its opinion, on whether Soren should be disqualified or not, to Bais in August 2022. In October, Bais had set off speculation by saying publicly that he had sought a “second opinion”. But in a letter to Soren, the EC clarified in November that it had not received any such request. Speaking to The Indian Express, former CEC S Y Quraishi said: “I cannot say whether he has been rewarded or not. But I have no doubt that his sitting on the EC's opinion in the office of profit case was grossly unfair and unethical as it created political uncertainty in the state. It could have led to defections and perhaps the fall of the government if the Chief Minister had not preempted it by getting a vote of confidence.” Another former CEC, O P Rawat, said: “This does not have any precedent. The Governors have to sign off on the EC’s opinion, they cannot disagree.” Rawat speculated that the decision may have been “negative” - that Soren should not be disqualified. “Otherwise, the Governor would have signed it,” he said. Under Article 192 of the Constitution, the Governor’s decision on disqualification of MLAs is final, but before such decision, “the Governor shall obtain the opinion of the Election Commission and shall act according to such opinion”. Meanwhile, new Governors were also announced for Meghalaya and Nagaland, where Assembly polls will be held later this month. Rawat said the appointments were not a violation of the Model Code of Conduct, as the office of the Governor is a Constitutional post. “The Governor is not supposed to be partisan, so it is not an MCC violation,” he said. Quraishi, too, agreed that there was no violation of the model code.
