NEW DELHI, 15 June 2005 — India’s President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam yesterday urged governors to live up to their constitutional obligations and maintain the sanctity of their position as first citizens without nurturing any affiliation.
“You have to decide whether you rise to be a first citizen or remain caged in the confines of your political or any other ancestry. If you continue to nurture certain affiliations, many will hesitate in approaching you with suggestions and problems. You will be isolated from a large number of people,” Kalam said while inaugurating the annual two-day conference of governors yesterday.
“As we move toward a developed India with economic strength, competitiveness, knowledge power and technology, productivity needs, effective governance and empowered management, we also need the gravitational force of invisible leadership to hold together multiple endeavors,” said Kalam.
The president said the constitution has provided for a special role for the governors.
“While there are many checks and balances provided by the constitution, the office of the governor has been bestowed with the independence to rise above the day-to-day politics and override compulsions either emanating from the central system or the state system,” said Kalam.
The president said the governor’s role is to distil the “best of aspirations of the people from the vicissitudes of politics”.
The two-day conference is being attended by Vice President Bhairon Singh Sekhawat, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the ministers of defense, finance, home, human resources development, external affairs and the planning commission deputy chairman, besides 28 governors and three lieutenant governors.
Besides focusing on national security and issues related to border management, the conference will also dwell on disaster management strategies, effective and gainful utilization of governors as chancellors of universities and development programs specific to states and union territories.
The conference will also review the action taken on the recommendations of the conference held in the last two years.
Stressing the relevance of the Sarkaria Commission report on the role of governors, the president said during the last three years he has personally witnessed that in any political crisis in a state, “the bulk of it has to be faced by the first citizen that is the governor.”
While the constitution provides measures to deal with such contingencies, Kalam said, “it is essential for the state and the central government to come forward and hedge their post retirement life. In this context, the Sarkaria Commission report is pertinent.”
Quoting from an ancient Tamil verse, Kalam said, “The errors of great men are like the eclipses of the greater lights. Whoever deviates from righteousness, whether individual or state, is no more than a passing shadow.”
The role of governors is crucial in the current times when India continues to suffer from disturbance caused by certain disgruntled elements in the society while at the same time trying to guard Indian borders against infiltrators, the president said.
