Chandigarh
Banwarilal Purohit on Saturday resigned from the post of Punjab governor as well as administrator of the Union Territory of Chandigarh, citing “personal reasons”, a development that came a day after he met Union home minister Amit Shah in New Delhi.
In a short letter to President Droupadi Murmu, Purohit cited personal reasons behind tendering his resignation.
“Due to personal reasons and certain other commitments, I tender my resignation from post of governor and administrator of UT Chandigarh. Please accept the same and oblige,” Purohit said in a letter.
The resignation came days after Chandigarh mayoral poll controversy on January 30. Manoj Sonkar of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won the poll, defeating the Congress-Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) alliance, which alleged tampering with ballot papers by the presiding officer.
Purohit (83) took charge as the Punjab governor in September 2021 after serving as the Tamil Nadu governor for four years.
In his more than two-year eventful term as the governor, Purohit had been at loggerheads with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Punjab over several issues, including Raj Bhawan’s pending assent to legislations and appointments of vice-chancellors.
Frequent run-ins with Punjab CM
Purohit withheld several important bills and termed multiple Vidhan Sabha sessions called by the speaker “illegal”, prompting the Bhagwant Mann-led AAP government to approach the Supreme Court twice in February and October 2023.
The two top constitutional functionaries didn’t remain on the best of terms since, shooting off letters and sniping at each other over issues such as appointments to various institutions, adherence to legal procedures, action against a minister and constitutional propriety.
In October 2022, when Mann skipped a civic reception held in honour of President Droupadi Murmu at Punjab Raj Bhawan, the governor took a dig at him, saying that constitutional obligations have to be met.
Purohit and Mann also sparred over the appointment of vice-chancellors (VCs) of Baba Farid University of Health Sciences (BFUHS) and Punjab Agricultural University (PAU).
After the governor refused to clear the state government’s choice for the post of VC of BFUHS and sought removal of the PAU vice-chancellor due to its “failure to follow” the laid down procedures, Mann accused Purohit of interfering in the functioning of his government.
Things got rockier in February 2023 when the AAP government decided to call the budget session from March 3, and the governor said he will take a call on summoning the House after getting legal advice on the “derogatory and unconstitutional” letter sent by the CM.
Purohit had, in a letter, asked Mann to explain the selection process of 36 school principals sent abroad for training, besides raising some other issues, to which the CM replied that he was only answerable to 3 crore Punjabis, not to a Centre-appointed governor, and also questioned the criteria for appointing governors.
While disposing of the AAP government’s plea on February 28 as the governor had already issued a letter summoning the session, the Supreme Court had criticised both Mann and Purohit for being “derelict” in discharging their duties under the Constitution in this matter and counselled them to uphold the constitutional protocols.
Later, in October, the Punjab government again moved the Supreme Court against Purohit over alleged delay in clearing various bills approved by the state assembly, saying such “unconstitutional” inaction has brought the entire administration to a grinding halt.
The government also sought directions from the top court to the governor to approve all pending legislations forwarded by the assembly.
A day later, Purohit gave his approval to two of the three Bills sent to him.
Purohit, who also remained a three-time Lok Sabha member from Nagpur in 1984, 1989 and 1996, had reserved three bills passed by the Punjab assembly for the consideration of the President in December last year. The three bills were the Sikh Gurdwaras (Amendment) Bill, 2023, the Punjab Universities Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2023, and the Punjab Police (Amendment) Bill, 2023. In July last year, Purohit also asked Mann to sack minister Lal Chand Kataruchak from the cabinet over alleged allegations of sexual misconduct.
Purohit also remained vocal about the drugs problem in Punjab. He advocated for the formation of village defence committees in the border districts to fight against drug smuggling.
The AAP, including the CM, cabinet ministers, and official spokespersons, reacted sharply each time the governor raised any issue or sought answers from the government. They repeatedly accused Purohit of acting at the behest of the BJP and conspiring against their government.