With the Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit on Saturday seeking to ''remind'' Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann of his duties and asserting that his legal advisors were not adequately briefing him on the same, a fresh war of words ensued between the Governor's office and the government.
The row between the Raj Bhavan and the AAP government escalated on Friday after the Governor sought a list on the legislative businesses to be taken up in the proposed Assembly session on Tuesday, evoking a strong reaction from Mann, who said it was ''too much''.
Earlier, Purohit had foiled the state government's plan to summon a special Assembly session on September 22 to bring a confidence motion.
On Saturday, he wrote to the chief minister and said, ''After reading your statements in today's newspapers, it appears to me that perhaps you are 'too much' angry with me.'' He further said, ''I think your legal advisors are not briefing you adequately. Perhaps, your opinion about me will definitely change after reading the provisions of Article 167 and 168 of the Constitution, which I'm quoting for your ready reference.'' While Article 167 defines a chief minister's duties towards the governor, Article 168 speaks about the composition of the state legislature.
On Friday, Mann had openly expressed his unhappiness over the governor's demand saying his consent before any session of the legislature is a formality.
''Gov (Governor)/Presi (President) consent before any session of Legislature is a formality. In 75 years, no Presi/Gov ever asked list of Legislative business before calling session. Legislative business is decided by BAC (Business Advisory Committee of the House) and Speaker,'' Mann had said in a tweet. ''Next Gov will ask all speeches also to be approved by him. Its too much,'' he had said.
In this escalation of war of words between the government and the Governor's office, Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema said it was condemnable that Governor Banwarilal Purohit has sought details of legislative business for the proposed Assembly session on September 27.
Cheema, who was the Leader of Opposition in the previous state government, said the Governor's office is constantly interfering in the work of Punjab and not allowing an elected AAP government to work freely. "I want to ask the Governor to check the record of his office and tell the people how many governors have asked the ruling government to provide information about the purpose of summoning an assembly session. Till today, no governor did it. Only he is doing so, because he is working at the behest of the BJP."
Cheema lashed out at the BJP for trying to stop the AAP government in Punjab through the Governor's office and said the BJP is afraid of growing popularity of AAP in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh ahead of the Assembly elections in the both states. He said AAP is dedicatedly working for the welfare of people and after Delhi and Punjab now there is a wave for change in other states. "The AAP is becoming a major threat to the BJP in the forthcoming elections and that's why they are now scared," he said
Cheema told the media that in many states like Maharashtra, Goa and Arunachal Pradesh, the BJP toppled governments after buying ruling MLAs under its devious "Operation Lotus". They are intimidating Opposition MLAs with the CBI, the ED and through money. "They are murdering democracy. But this operation has been stopped by AAP, first in Delhi and now in Punjab. Due to this, the BJP has now opted for another tactic and is using the Governor's office to stop AAP," Cheema added.
Joining the issue, another Cabinet Minister Aman Arora termed it "unfortunate and condemnable". Arora said that in the past 75 years no President or Governor has ever asked for the list of legislative business before calling the session. "This is happening for the first time because the Punjab Governor is clearly working in cahoots with the BJP and the Congress to weaken the democratic system and stop the Aam Aadmi Party government from working for the welfare of common people," he said.
Arora accused Purohit of cancelling the earlier special session scheduled for September 22 at the instance of the BJP-led Centre to make the party's ''Operation Lotus'' a success. The Governor is acting at the behest of the BJP, he alleged addressing the media in Chandigarh. ''If 117 MLAs want to discuss and resolve public issues, then why is he fearing,'' asked Arora. He alleged that the Governor houses in states with non-BJP governments have become places for ''hatching conspiracies''.
Asked whether the state government will provide the details sought by the Governor, Arora said a decision in this regard will be taken after the chief minister and the Vidhan Sabha Speaker hold legal consultations.
Whether the confidence motion will be moved, he evaded a direct reply. ''Just wait for it. Whatever happens will be before you,'' he said. Asked if the Governor has again denied permission for the Assembly session, Arora said, ''Let him do so, we will plan accordingly.'' Arora asked the Governor to play his role and not to interfere in the functioning of MLAs.
As per convention, the Governor gives approval to the recommendation of the Cabinet for holding a session and then before the session, the Business Advisory Committee mutually decides about the issues to be discussed, he said, adding, ''The BJP-appointed Governor of Punjab is acting as if he is a school principal and elected members of the state Assembly are his students.''
