Congress accuses Governor of selectively quoting Supreme Court judgments to defend sanction for prosecution of Siddaramaiah

Congress defends Chief Minister Siddaramaiah against Governor's inquiry sanction, accusing selective quoting of Supreme Court judgments.

Coming to the rescue of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah against whom Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot gave sanction to conduct an inquiry, the Congress on Sunday accused the Governor of selectively quoting the Supreme Court’s judgments to justify the sanction.

“The Cabinet recommendation (to the Governor to withdraw the show-cause notice issued to the Chief Minister) was in line with Article 163. This (sanction for inquiry) is nothing but mischief. We are not blaming the Governor. There are precedences in the past 10 years where the BJP when unable to wield political influence has used the ED, CBI, and the office of the Governor,” Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister Priyank Kharge told presspersons here on Sunday.

“Legally, he has said nothing on the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers that was sent to him. For a seventy-page document, he has responded in two pages,” he said.

He added that all these have played out in Maharashtra, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, and Delhi. “What is happening in those States is happening here too. In fact, the previous Governor Vajubhai Vala had given 15 days for B.S. Yediyurappa to prove the majority in 2018. We went to court and got it down to three days.”

Mr. Kharge said a person who has to protect the Constitution has himself become an extra-constitutional authority. He said that the Governor and the Governor’s office are being used as a political tool or a weapon to destabilise the constitutionally elected government. “The Governor is free to act on his own but he has to give reason and should not be arbitrary. Where is the reason? The sanction should have records or material available. What is the material available here?” Citing court rulings on the decision to sanction prosecution, he said, “It should be the satisfaction of the Constitution and not of the Governor. In this case, the sanction is the personal satisfaction of the Governor and not of the Constitution.”