Raj Bhawans functioning like party offices: Congress leader Margaret Alva

Jaipur, Feb 3 (PTI) The Raj Bhawans in many states are functioning like "party offices", Congress leader and former Union minister Margaret Alva said on Saturday, accusing governors of playing a political role in the "making and unmaking" of governments.

Speaking at the ongoing 17th edition of the Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF) here, Alva, a former governor herself, said governors are not "agents of political parties" and are expected to behave in the Raj Bhawan as the Constitution expects them to.

"The whole idea of the role of governors was to keep the federal system going. Today, there are challenges, there are aberrations, and we see in many states and under many circumstances that the Raj Bhawans are functioning like party offices.

"Governors are playing a political role in making and unmaking governments, in ignoring the advice of the state cabinets. In fact, in many states, we see a day-to-day battle between the Raj Bhawan and the state government, which I do not believe is the right thing," said Alva, who has served as the governor of Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Goa and Gujarat.

She cited instances from Kerala, Puducherry and Delhi to explain how governors are allegedly acting as representatives of the Centre and meddling in state policies -- that too "repeatedly".

"You can see the governor of Kerala sitting on the road protesting against a government.... This takes away from the dignity of the office. You have seen West Bengal at its worst or Puducherry where the great lady refused to follow the orders of the high court and kept giving orders to the administration. And then, what is happening in Delhi.

"All I am saying is that if governors throw the constitutional requirement to the wind, then it is they who will create conflicts between the Centre and the states," Alva said.

The 81-year-old also talked about the delimitation exercise to be carried out following the first census after 2026 and said a "new formula" has to be worked out on seats, which is "beyond pure population".

Delimitation is a process of redrawing the boundaries of parliamentary and Assembly constituencies based on population numbers. The population growth rate in some northern states is higher than that in southern India.

According to Alva, it is wrong that the southern states, which have done a fantastic job to contain their population and invest in development, are now being told to be prepared to make the sacrifice.

"I am not against social justice or economic justice, but I am against the injustice to the southern states that have done a fantastic job," she said.

The JLF 2024 is claimed to be the "biggest literary festival in the world" that will see the participation of the world's best thinkers, writers and speakers till February 5. PTI MG RC