It is time anyway as Goa has been without a full-time Governor since August last year, with Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari officiating as the Governor of Goa holding dual charge since that time. Koshiyari was appointed to hold additional charge of Goa after then Governor Satyapal Malik was very suddenly transferred just ten months after taking charge as Governor of the State. The name that has come up is of Sunil Arora, who retired as the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) earlier this week. But it is still early to confirm who the next incumbent of the Raj Bhawan will be.
The choice of Governor at this point of time is crucial. There are less than 11 months to go to the State Assembly elections and the Centre would prefer to have somebody they trust as the Governor of Goa. The ruling party would like the new Governor to be an effective administrator but also one who is well versed with the law and the rules, especially those related to elections and government formation. It cannot slip out of the mind how in 2017, BJP with 13 MLAs managed to cobble up a majority with Goa Forward Party, Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party and Independents to form the government. So the Centre may look for someone who fits that bill.
Goa, however, needs a Governor who takes interest in the issues of the State, and becomes a voice of Goa with New Delhi. In that respect, in his brief 10-month tenure, Malik had taken an active interest in the affairs of the State, more than any other Governor had in the past. He had written to the Centre on the issue of the River Mhadei and also the restart of mining operations in the State, seeking the Union Government’s intervention in these issues. He had also visited the Basilica of Bom Jesus last year after the Rector of the Church had written on the urgent repairs required before the monsoon. Nothing positive may have arisen from the interventions of the Governor, but the fact that he was taking it up with the Union Government was in itself some solace to the people of the State.
But all of Malik’s interventions may not have gone down well with the government in the State. For instance, he had called the State government proposal for the construction of a new Raj Bhawan as ‘irrational and imprudent’ since it was made at a time when ‘the State is battling COVID-19 and reeling under a financial crisis’ and stated that he did not require a new premises. At another time, Malik had made a series of suggestions on the COVID-19 treatment and management. Among them he had stated that persons with co-morbidities be treated at the COVID hospital for the other ailments along with the Coronavirus treatment. The government had then initiated the process for this and restructured the entire COVID treatment protocol and set up with new teams formed to manage the pandemic.
Goa cannot hope or expect a Governor who will intervene as did Malik. Such personalities come rarely. What Goa deserves is a Governor who will be an administrator and will abide by his or her Constitutional duties. The issues that the former Governor had taken up – River Mhadei and mining – still remain unresolved, with the Mhadei issue turning even a little more complicated. Goa requires a Governor who will stand for the aspirations of the people and intercede with the Centre on issues that remain unresolved in the State and which require the Union government’s intervention. In short, the next governor must keep Goa’s interests first.
