Jharkhand Governor on UCC: ‘Tribals should be allowed to lead lives their way till they are ready for it’

Some might call your tours political, given that the Governor is supposed to occupy a neutral space.

Radhakrishnan: I have nothing to do with politics. I quit party politics the moment my name was announced as the Governor of Jharkhand. However, since political leadership alone decides the fate of the people, I am taking a stock of developmental schemes to check what benefits have been delivered. I have seen that irrigation facilities are comparatively very low in Jharkhand. Health is very slowly improving. Housing is another area where we have to concentrate.

One scheme introduced by former Tamil Nadu chief minister M Karunanidhi called Samathuvapuram – which means everyone is equal in the hamlet – needs special mention, where a planned layout was created in a village, with school, proper drainage, ration shops etc. We have to give them a good living atmosphere.

What are the areas Jharkhand needs immediate improvement in?

Radhakrishnan: Preliminary education has to be improved, and if it had been taken care of in the last 23 years, a new generation would have come out (of these schools). Although it is a little late, we are trying now with Eklavya Schools, School of Excellence, Kasturba Gandhi Schools, which are at par with other private schools. As far as higher education is concerned, I am trying to instill academic discipline and make universities corruption-free. Students should not get hit due to corruption and come out of colleges as merely literate. Instead, they should be able to absorb ground realities, and be able to face global competition. The universities need good professors, teaching and non-teaching staff. I have requested the state government to create a separate Public Service Commission for recruiting teaching and non-teaching staff.

How much of the blame for the lack of development in Jharkhand in the last 20 years lies with the political leadership ?

Radhakrishnan: Irrespective of the political party, leaders should come out and fight against corruption – the biggest issue in Jharkhand. A clean government can deliver better quality service to the people.

The current JMM-led government always brings up dues to the tune of Rs 1.5 lakh crore pending with the Centre. Has there been any conversation with the state government on this issue?

Radhakrishnan: So far, the state government has not brought this issue to my knowledge. I am the link between them and the Central government and, if they bring the data to me, I will certainly take up the issue with the Central government.

Jharkhand faces the problem of distress migration.

Radhakrishnan: If it comes to my knowledge, I will take it up. Not just the state government, if any labourer even writes to me on problems faced by them, I will take it up. We will write to them (the employers) that even if a work has been subcontracted, insurance should be given to workers and their salaries properly paid.

Before you came to Jharkhand, there was a year of political upheaval, with CM Hemant Soren’s political future depending on the Election Commission’s opinion about the row over his award of a mining lease to a company owned by him. It is soon going to be a year since. Has the envelope with the opinion not been opened yet?

Radhakrishnan: Nobody can escape their wrongs. Everything has to be taken up and looked into at an appropriate time.

The most talked about issue now is the possible implementation of a UCC. You have said that the tribal community should be kept out of such a code. Also, what do you think of the fear among the Muslim community that a UCC is directed at them.

Radhakrishnan: There is a huge difference between the living conditions, atmosphere of the tribals than others. We all know that tribals are the most backward when it comes to education in the country. They also number the least among people in government service. We should not compare (them with others). We have to give people from tribal communities more time to understand general society. I personally feel they should be allowed to lead lives their traditional way till they are ready for a UCC. If someone is living in an isolated area with tribal communities, then their exposure to the modern world will be limited, and they will take time to understand what is wrong and right.

As far as the perception of Muslims is concerned, people are getting confused between a Uniform Civil Code and ‘the Hindu Civil Code’. A UCC will have all the goodness of all the religions, and what is needed for the modern world.

There has been a breakdown in ties between Tamil Nadu CM M K Stalin and its Governor R N Ravi, especially over the arrest of minister Senthil Balaji. As a Governor, how do you see this?

Radhakrishnan: Who failed first? It is the CM who has to control his colleagues. The ED had done its searches and got a lot of evidence at the Secretariat. So instead of acting against his own minister, the CM is asking the President to remove the Governor! How has the Governor behaved wrongly? Has the Raj Bhavan been raided by the ED? Then who should be removed? If the CM is elected by the people, can he or his minister loot the public?

The Opposition has called the instances of the ED raiding its leaders as ‘selective targeting’.

Radhakrishnan: Tell me, where has an Opposition leader gone to the ED singling out a leader in BJP-ruled states and asking for an investigation with supportive documents? There are no such complaints. If they have faith that the ED is being selective, they can go to the courts. Is any national channel discussing that democracy is being held at a gunpoint in West Bengal? Our democracy cannot be under gunpoint. Unfortunately, this has become a regular affair in West Bengal. If law and order is getting deteriorated, why can’t the Governor act?

… If one is clean, what can the ED do (against them)? People are afraid only because they have done something wrong. Genuine people need not worry about anybody. Ours is a democratic country, not a dictatorship.

So what kind of Governor do you see yourself as?

Radhakrishnan: It depends. The Governor is not a ruler, but a custodian. If a Governor is taken for granted and disrespected by the state government, it is not right. I cannot comment on hypothetical situations, however if the situation gets worse, the Governor has to act and cannot just be sleeping at Raj Bhavan. That is what is expected. But if a Governor has failed to act in an unbiased manner, then people can raise their voice against the Governor.

But there are people with vested interests raising their voice, which is not right. One has to differentiate between right and wrong actions.

Do you think people who have held certain positions, like S Abdul Nazeer, who retired as a Supreme Court Justice and is now the Andhra Pradesh Governor, should accept a government post?

Radhakrishnan: Whether it is political leaders or members of the judiciary, people will have complaints regarding any appointment. Then, who should be appointed? It is the priority of the Central government, President to make appointments. We should not see who should or shouldn’t be the Governor, but judge by the actions of the Governor: is he or she abiding by the Constitution or not?

One key issue pertaining to Jharkhand is the implementation of the Panchayat Extension to Scheduled Areas Act (PESA). For 23 years, PESA rules have not been formed. Is there a time frame when these will be implemented?

Radhakrishnan: Yes, this is one thing which is being worked upon and the working of tribal advisory council has to be reorganised and the Governor’s role in it has to be re-established. We are in deliberations with the state government over this.

Do you think there should be a time limit within which a Governor must give his decision on Bills passed by a government?

Radhakrishnan: I don’t think so, because already Bills come to the Governor twice or thrice, and then finally the Governor has to give assent. If there is a time limit, it may go against the Constitution at times. So, there should not be a time frame. I returned the reservation Bill to the state government and asked them to take a second opinion of the Advocate General because the Bill would have taken reservation up to 77% and looked politically motivated. There are already many rulings in the Supreme Court that total reservations should not go beyond 50%.