Imkong Walling
Governors in (the states of) India are appointed by the President. The role of a Governor is, in essence, titular or by the standard school text definition— a Constitutional post.
That is how it is in theory— a ceremonial and non-political entity with nominal powers.
Notwithstanding this definition, the position of the Governor gets caught in the whirlwind of electoral politics, more often than not, handpicked by the party/coalition in ruling at the Centre through the President.
It often happens that the government in ruling at the Centre would have political stalwarts and other non-political personalities of choice seated as Governors in the states.
And it also happens that states would have governments in opposition to the government at the Centre or both sides on agreeable terms.
In the case of Nagaland, it has had governments siding with the party in ruling at the Centre, implying a rather cordial relationship between the state party/coalition in ruling.
In such scenarios, it is rare for Governors intervening in matters of governance, unless in exceptional cases, while letting the legislature/executive do its job.
At present, Nagaland has a government siding with the ruling government at the Centre, which would imply a Governor playing the role of a distant spectator, as far as governance of the state is concerned. It is not the case with the present regime.
As stated above, seldom does a Governor get into the humdrum of governance and law & order, which are left to the prerogative of the state government.
It is not the case though with the present Governor, whose tenure has been anything but warmth between Raj Bhawan and the PDA government.
To the chagrin of the state government, he has been exceptionally critical of the law & order situation, especially unsolicited and unrestrained monetary demands, also known as ‘extortion,’ which have affected progress of development projects.
First, it was reviewing the status of Centrally-sponsored road projects and also a directive to the state police chief to crack down on “extortions” plaguing the Dimapur-Kohima (NH 29) 4-lane project.
The most recent one i.e. the Governor pulling up the firms contracted for the 4-lane project over safety concerns or “reckless rock blasting” and advising the state government to explore legal options for safer and speedier work may seem like a nominal head going beyond the Constitutionally mandated authority.
Many would not agree with the Governor but there are issues on which to agree and disagree. The recent action is one which for the majority, would, fall in the ‘agree’ category.
What’s to be taken note is that the Governor pointed out an area of governance which an elected state government is expected of addressing in the first place.
As for the people and the civil society organizations, holding an elected government accountable for public infrastructure projects is just as important as going emotionally protective over job reservation, land, tradition and identity.
The writer is a Principal Correspondent at The Morung Express. Comments can be sent to imkongwalls@gmail.com
