Govt likely to name new governors today

Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, who was on holiday and returned late last night is scrutinising a panel of names for new governors.

New governors could be named tomorrow, mostly for the states where the previous National democratic Alliance (NDA) government had appointed RSS members for the top constitutional post, namely KN Sahni (Goa), ML Khurana (Rajasthan), Vishnukant Shastri (UP), Rama Jois (Bihar) and Kailashpati Mishra (Gujarat).

The Congress favours a seamless replacement of governors to put an end to the controversy over changing governors. The NDA is equally determined to perpetuate the discussion as a political trap for the Congress.

The Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) game plan is to prove that the Congress is politicising the post of governor by its politics of vendetta by removing "fine upstanding citizens" as governors. Party strategicians say the process of removing governors is not that simple, for they are appointees of the President.

But the Congress is not overly bothered about the seeming unconstitutionality of the move.

"This is a case of the constitutional glass being half full or half empty. Governors exist at the pleasure of the President. The President can withdraw his pleasure at the request of the Prime Minister. Normally the Appointments Committee of the Cabinetis empowered to decide the appointment of governors.

"The government does not even have to call a meeting of Cabinet. The President cannot reject the advice of government ""he can only send it back for reconsideration once.

" The norm is that he does not do even this. So all the Bharatiya Janata Party is trying to do is save its people from losing jobs. If the Congress has decided that they should lose their jobs, they will," said a top bureaucrat formerly in the Union home ministry who has handled the issue of appointment of governors.

This is why the Congress is clear that it does not want to appoint new governors in a piecemeal fashion but appoint them all in one fell stroke.

The matter was reportedly discussed in Cabinet when it met yesterday.

Gandhi has to pick and choose new governors from a panel drawn up by the party, which has RN Mirdha, Buta Singh and SC Jamir on it.

The party feels Mirdha, 84, will bring solid political experience to bear in a gubernatorial assignment.

Buta Singh needs to be rehabilitated after being defeated in the Jalore Lok Sabha seat as he represents the aspirations of Mazhabi Sikhs.

SC Jamir, former Nagaland chief minister, needs to be removed from state political landscape because until he goes, the outsiders waiting to join the party , cannot seek reentry into the party.

One of these leaders is Rio who could alter the politics of Nagaland and even topple the government.

Some Congress politicians have refused governorships point blank. Motilal Vora was offered the UP governorship but he has declined the post. Governorships have also been declined by RK Dhawan and Mohsina Kidwai.

Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will consult to finalise the names.