Bengaluru: The Governor versus government tussle continues in Karnataka with Home Minister G. Parameshwara stating on Monday that there are no examples of governors seeking information from the government on a daily basis.
“There is no need to answer everything,” he further emphasised.
Speaking to the media at his residence in Bengaluru on Monday, Home Minister Parameshwara stated, “The Governor holds a very responsible and respectable position. For the first time, the Governor is asking for information on the daily administration of the government.”
He added, “It is the Governor’s responsibility to safeguard the spirit of the Constitution. The authority to handle daily administration lies with the Chief Minister and the government. However, this is the first time that a Governor is asking for information or intervening in the daily administration of the government.”
“I have been in politics for 35 years. We have seen many Governors and Chief Ministers. Such a situation has never arisen. There are no examples where a Governor has asked for information on the government’s daily work or decisions,” he stated.
“Whenever necessary, the Chief Minister, Chief Secretary, or Home Minister may go to the Governor to brief him, especially on matters related to law and order. The Governor has the right to call and ask the ministers concerned. However, asking for information via daily letters is against the Constitution,” he said.
“There should be a good relationship between the Governor and the government. Only then will it be possible to work for the people and the state. We will discuss this with the Chief Minister in the Cabinet and decide what action should be taken,” he added.
“There is no obligation to answer everything the Governor asks. We will definitely answer what needs to be answered. But there is no compulsion to answer everything. It’s not like we have to respond to every query,” he said.
“I don’t know the reason why the Governor is doing this. We protested, calling it wrong when the Governor suddenly issued a show-cause notice to the elected Chief Minister. We didn’t protest for no reason. There was no investigation, no report. Just because someone complained, issuing a show-cause notice without an enquiry is not right,” he remarked.
“You cannot have one standard for the Chief Minister and another for Union Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy. You have to work by the same standards. If you issue a notice to one person, you should issue it to the other as well. We have also questioned the Governor regarding this,” he added.
“We discussed the manner in which the show-cause notice was issued to the Chief Minister in the Cabinet. There is no secrecy in this. The Governor has the right to advise under the Constitution. Therefore, we have informed him to reconsider the issuance of the show-cause notice,” he clarified.
The Karnataka government slammed Governor Thaawar Chand Gehlot as a puppet in the hands of the Centre following his decision to give consent for prosecution against CM Siddaramaiah.
The Congress staged a protest and questioned why he had not given consent for investigation against Union Minister Kumaraswamy and other BJP former ministers even though complaints against them had been pending for long.
In turn, the Governor had sought information regarding all the Lokayukta cases dropped by the Karnataka government and information on fresh charges against CM Siddaramaiah.
Talking about formation of a SIT against jailed BJP MLA Munirathna, HM Parameshwara stated, “New cases are emerging daily against BJP MLA Munirathna Naidu. Initially, it was thought to be one case, but now different cases are being added. Due to the demand for a thorough investigation, a Special Investigation Team has been formed as per necessity. The SIT will take Munirathna into custody for questioning.”
At present, Munirathna is lodged in Bengaluru Central Prison on charges of rape and honey trapping.
–IANS