States should be given power to appoint governors: CPI(M) MP V Sivadasan

New Delhi: There is a need to amend the Constitution to empower the states to appoint governors in order to respect the "will of the people", CPI(M) MP V Sivadasan said in the Rajya Sabha on Friday.

Sivadasan, whose party's government in Kerala is locked in a bitter war of words with Governor Arif Mohammed Khan, asked the members to support the passage of the Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2022 (amendment of Article 153 and substitution of articles 155 and 156) to end "colonial-era indulgences".

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader introduced the bill in the House on December 9 last year.

Commencing the discussion on the bill on Friday, Sivadasan alleged that governors are acting as a tool of the Union government.

"It a very important bill. It is in the public interest that the governor's position needs to be filled not by the president, under the advice of the Union government. The governor should be appointed by the state itself, the will of the people has to be respected," he added.

The Left leader noted that federalism is part of the a basic structure of the nation as well as the Constitution.

He accused the BJP-led Centre of working round the clock to diminish the power of states.

"In all this, the governor has become an instrument to implement the agenda of the central government," he alleged and sought the members' support to end the colonial-era legacy.

Countering Sivadasan, Anil Agarwal of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said the governor's role is very important in a democratic set up.

He urged Sivadasan to withdraw the bill.

Agarwal also asked the members not to support the bill in the Upper House.

Earlier, around 70 private members bills were introduced in the Rajya Sabha.