GUWAHATI: The Central Government has created a record of sorts by appointing seven governors within a span of just nine months in Mizoram, making Mizos wonder if their state is a “dumping ground for the unwanted governors”. The latest to come to the hill state is West Bengal Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi, who has been given the additional charge of Mizoram. He replaced Aziz Qureshi, who was sacked last week within three months of being transferred to Mizoram from Uttarakhand.
The wave of sackings and transfers of the governors has enraged Mizos so much that they took to the streets in a peaceful protest. On Saturday, the day Tripathi arrived in the state, the influential Mizo Zirlai Pawl (Mizoram Students Union) took out a protest march to ventilate their displeasure. On April 7, the Union will enforce the closure of all Central Government offices in the state and hoist black flags there. Protests have been planned on April 9 as well when President Pranab Mukherjee will visit the state to attend the convocation of Mizoram University. The Union will also meet the President and submit a memorandum, urging him to ensure that governors are not frequently shunted out of the state.
Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla is livid. “It is a prerogative of the Central Government but I wonder if governors should be treated like this,” he said. “In the last nine months, the Centre appointed seven governors in Mizoram but they didn’t have the courtesy to inform me even once,” he added.
The saga of sackings and transfers began in July last year when the Narendra Modi government transferred V Purushottam to Nagaland from Mizoram. He was miffed that the Centre did not consult him and quit protesting the decision. Purushottam was replaced by Modi’s bête noire Kamla Beniwal, who was moved out of Gujarat. But she could work for barely a month before being sent packing for alleged impropriety, a charge she dismissed stoutly. The unceremonious end to her tenure came when she had just two months left in the office.
After Beniwal’s departure, Maharashtra Governor K Sankaranarayanan, who had the experience of working in the northeast as the governor of Nagaland, was transferred to Mizoram. But he refused to take charge and quit upon the issuance of his transfer order. At this time, former Union Home Secretary V K Duggal, who was the governor of Manipur, was given the additional charge of Mizoram. But he quit in 20 days. Subsequently, the Centre gave additional charge of the state to Meghalaya Governor K K Paul. But even he could work for just a few months before being transferred to Uttarakhand. He was replaced by Qureshi.
Qureshi, whose term would have ended in 2017, had dragged the government to the Supreme Court last year after he had been prodded to quit. Before sacking him, the government made a case against him for his alleged inappropriate comments that “even god cannot stop rapes in Uttar Pradesh”. Qureshi had dismissed it saying his comments were twisted out of context. He was then holding the additional charge of governor of that state.
“We don’t mind who the government will appoint as the governor. But the person should be allowed to serve his full tenure so that he can work for the people of the state. In the last nine months, the government appointed seven governors in Mizoram. The people of Mizoram feel insulted. Mizoram has turned out to be a dumping ground for unwanted governors. It’s clear that governors are sent here as punishment. This has to stop,” the protesting Mizo Zirlai Pawl president Lalhmachhuana told The Sunday Standard.
Mizo Zirlai Pawl general secretary Ramdinliana Renthlei said, “Mizoram is not a garbage dump. The Centre cannot dump governors here it dislikes. We urge the government not to play with the feelings of the people of Mizoram.”