Governors, CMs should respect Lakshmana rekha to avoid conflict: Goa guv

Amid increasing confrontation between governors and chief ministers in non-BJP ruled states, Goa Governor P S Sreedharan Pillai has suggested that both sides should respect their Lakshmana rekha' to avoid any conflict.

There is a Lakshmana rekha within which each pillar of democracy should function. Once that line is crossed, the Constitution does not have any remedy for that, Pillai said.

The discussions which took place in the Constituent Assembly go on to show that its members never expected a situation in which the three pillars - legislative, executive and judiciary - of democracy would come on a confrontational course, he told PTI over phone.

Pillai's comment has come at a time when the tussle between governors and chief ministers of non-BJP ruled states such as Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Delhi, Telangana, West Bengal, Punjab and Jharkhand has gone up on several issues.

Pillai, without referring to any particular incident of confrontation, said, I cannot say anything about the relationship that other governors share with their respective chief ministers but so far as I am concerned, I have experienced that if you give respect, you get respect in return.

Pillai said that when he was appointed as the governor of Mizoram in October 2019, some political parties issued a statement and said that "Mizoram should not be allowed to be a dumping ground for Hindu fundamentalist".

They said so because I had held the post of state president of BJP in Kerala and that's why they opposed my appointment as governor. But within a couple of months, they said I was serving them better and I had a very good rapport with them, Pillai said.

The Goa governor further said the person who is holding the post should have "magnanimity, responsibility and integrity". "I believe that respect for each other should be the criteria because people are supreme under the Constitution and under the democratic system followed by us, he said.

Talking about his current initiative where he has launched a scheme - Literary Nayi Pahal - to promote first time writers from local languages Konkani and Marathi, Pillai said leaders from opposition parties have praised this initiative.

We all have the ultimate end to serve the people of this country. 'Give love and get love' can only make things work smoothly, he said.

He added, This is the first time that any Raj Bhawan has launched such a scheme where we have decided to shortlist 60 first time writers - 25 from Marathi, 25 from Konkani and 5 each from Hindi and Sanskrit. It incurs a cost of Rs 1 crore where Raj Bhawan is sharing 50% of expense. The rest we will get from CSR funds.

Pillai is of the view that ordinary people too have good writing capabilities, but they don't have money and opportunity to get their writings published. We are helping the society by promoting local languages, he said.