NEW DELHI, June 17: Uttar Pradesh Governor B L Joshi today resigned as the Narendra Modi Government started the process of removal of those appointed by the previous UPA regime but apparently there was resistance from some of those who were asked to quit.

Kerala Governor Shiela Dikshit and four more Governors are understood to have been asked to make way for new appointees in the wake of the change of Government at the Centre.

Among those who are understood to have been called by Home Secretary Anil Goswami for the nudge are Maharashtra Governor K Sankaranarayanan, a Congressman from Kerala, Diskhit, a former Delhi Chief Minister who was appointed just on the eve of announcement of Lok Sabha polls, West Bengal Governor M K Narayanan, Nagaland Governor Ashwani Kumar, a former CBI Director.

Kamla Beniwal, who did not share good relations with Modi during his tenure as Chief Minister in Gujarat, may also be on the way out.

Sankaranarayanan and Dikshit are said to be holding out mulling their next move. There is also speculation that some of the Governors may be shifted to “insignificant” states in a bid to ease them out.

Karnataka Governor H R Bharadwaj, whose term is coming to an end this month, and Assam Governor

J B Patnaik, who has three more months, have said they have not resigned.

The resignation of 78-Joshi, who was recently sworn-in for a fresh term in Uttar Pradesh and was known for his proximity to the Nehru-Gandhi family, was sent to President Pranab Mukherjee, who accepted it and asked Uttrakhand Governor Aziz Qureshi to discharge duties till further orders.

It came a day after the Centre made known to some of the Governors that they quit.

By a strange coincidence, a number of Governors were in the national capital and some of them met the President fuelling speculation that they could have resigned.

Besides the Governors, the Government is also working on removal of political appointees in bodies like National Disaster Management Authority.

While change of Governors has been routinely followed by new Governments ever since the Janata party Government unceremoniously removed Governors in 1977, ushering in a new practice, a judgement of the Supreme Court in 2010 has apparently circumscribed the Government’s hands now in going for the kill.

The judgement of a bench headed by the then Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan had said that while it was the prerogative of the Government to remove Governors, it cannot be done in an arbitrary, capricious or unreasonable manner.

Hence, the Home Secretary’s “persuasive” call to the Governors to step down, sources said.

The Centre’s decision came under severe attack from from Congress and CPI-M, which termed it as as unconstitutional and unethical. But BJP leaders felt there was nothing wrong in such a decision.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh refused to be drawn into any discussion on the subject but merely commented that if he were in the place of these Governors he would have quit.

Karanatka Governor H R Bhardawaj, whose tenure is ending this month, denied that he has resigned. Similar was the stand taken by Assam Governor J B Patnaik, who like Bhardawaj is also a Congressman, said he has not resigned.

Bharadwaj, whose term is ending this month-end, said he has not got a call to put in his papers.

“When my innings is coming to an end, it is my duty to come call on the President. I have also sought an appointment with the Prime Minister,” he said.

“If there is a rumour (about his resignation) I cannot help,” Patnaik said and added that meeting the President, who is his friend, did not mean that he was resigning.

Dikshit said she cannot comment on media reports.

Meanwhile, Rajasthan Governor Margaret Alva met Prime Minister Narendra Modi which was described as a courtesy call. She also called on the President.

Alva, who completes her five year term in August, is understood to have not been sounded out yet.

Slamming the move to remove Governors, Congress termed it as “political vendetta” and said the “dictatorial” step will have “serious repercussions”.

Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad reminded the Government about the May 2010 judgement of the Supreme Court and said the Centre does not have the brief to remove the Governors “in arbitrary and capricious manner with the change of power”.

In a statement here, Azad called the “move to remove the Governors of various states as dictatorial”.

CPI-M leader Sitaram Yechurry said the move to replace the Governors just because they have been appointed by the previous Government was politically “not ethical” and unconstitutional. (PTI)

NEW DELHI, June 17:
Congress today attacked Finance Minister Arun Jaitley for attributing rise in inflation partly to hoarding by traders, saying the Government was trying to find “excuses for its non-performance” and inability to bring “good days as promised”.
Party general secretary Ajay Maken also said that when the BJP was in Opposition it used to claim that corruption in Government was leading to rise in prices of commodities and asked if the party felt the same now when it was in power.
“Arun Jaitley has blamed hoarders for inflation and asked the state Governments to keep a check on hoarding to check inflation. This statement of Jaitley should also be seen in conjunction with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s statement that people should be ready to swallow bitter pills.
“BJP and the Government are trying to find excuses for non-performance because they are unable to fulfill hopes and aspirations of people about bringing ‘achche din’ (good days) as promised,” Maken, who is the Communication Department Chairman of Congress, said.
‘Achche din aane waale hain’ (Good days are about to come) was a prominent slogan of the Narendra Modi-led BJP in the Lok Sabha polls.
Maken said, “When we used to say hoarding, performance of the state Governments and international developments play an important role in price rise, the BJP as an opposition party never accepted that and squarely blamed the UPA Government.
“It blamed corruption in the UPA Government for price rise. Now we want to ask the BJP and its Government that please tell us when there is a price rise, where is the corruption in your Government”.
Attributing rise in inflation partly to withholding of food stocks by traders, Jaitley had yesterday said the Centre is committed to ease supply side bottlenecks and also asked states to take firm measures against hoarders to check speculation.
Maken also targeted the Prime Minister over his remarks on the state of economy that UPA Government had left and came out with figures claiming that it was much better during the UPA than what it was during the NDA rule in the past.(PTI)
Addressing BJP workers in Panaji on Saturday, Modi had said, “I have taken over the reins of the country in circumstances when there is nothing left behind by the previous Government. They left everything empty. The country’s financial health has hit the bottom.”
Attacking the Prime Minister over his remarks, Maken said, “Modi said the UPA Government has left empty coffers. We would like to tell the nation that the foreign exchange reserve in 2004 was Rs 4.7 lakh crore and when we left power in 2014, it reached Rs 18.72 lakh crore, a four-time increase.
“Similarly the net export in 2004 was 2.83 lakh crore, which increased in 2014 to 18.80 lakh crore, a growth of nearly seven times. Per capita income increased from Rs 24,000 to Rs 69,000 annually, an increase of almost three times.”
Hitting back at the Prime Minister over his remarks, Congress had yesterday cited a Gujarat Government survey which had praised India’s economic growth. (PTI)