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Governors could do more: Kalam
By Our Special Correspondent
The President, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, addressing the Governors' Conference at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi on Saturday. Listening to him are the Prime Minister, A.B. Vajpayee, and the Vice-President, Bhairon Singh Shekhawat. — Photo: V.V. Krishnan
Inaugurating the Governors' Conference at the Rashtrapati Bhavan this morning, he described the Governor's role as that of ``a noble healer''. He wanted them to ``give leadership to move the development process with fast interface between the Centre and the States''.
Besides all the 28 Governors and three Lt. Governors, the two-day meet is being attended by the Prime Minister, the Deputy Prime Minister and other senior Ministers as well as by the Cabinet Secretary and the Union Home Secretary.
The burden of the President's exhortation was that without becoming a rival centre of power or authority, the Governors could still be more than ornamental figures, confined to the Raj Bhavans. He said he was ``convinced of the imperative need for the Governors of the States concerned to reach the grassroots to understand the problems and focus them to the State Government concerned and sometimes the Central Government for fast action to remove the sufferings of the common people''.
Whether it be the issues of insurgency, communal tension or networking of rivers, the Governors could ``play a salutary role in creating a climate of consensus'' among the States and the people. Also, the Governor had to play a key role in creating harmony between the Centre and the States. Above all, the ``Governors have a positive role to play to bring about unity of minds''.
After the President's opening remarks, the Governors settled down for working sessions. The morning session was devoted to ``an integrated approach to combating militancy and insurgency'' while the post-lunch session's theme was ``appraisal of the law and order situation, and the role of the Governor in communal harmony''. Between the two sessions, the Vice-President, Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, hosted a lunch for the Governors at the Hyderabad House.
Whereas the Governors of Chattisgarh, Jharkhand and Andhra Pradesh talked of the naxalite-related violence, the Jammu and Kashmir Governor, G.C. Saxena, dwelt on the post-election situation. He told his fellow-Governors that the people who had participated in the elections in large numbers did so because they were keen to secure governance in key developmental areas. Mr. Saxena said the new Government was earnestly addressing itself to problems of education, housing, etc.. He also cited relative figures of insurgency-related violence to show that the ``healing-touch'' policy was working.
The Governors from the Northeast were also heard with attention, especially in the context of the on-going peace process. The Nagaland Governor, Shyamal Dutt, welcomed the negotiations with the NSCN (I-M) leaders, whereas the Meghalaya Governor suggested the creation of a National Integration Council at the State-level, to be headed by the Governor. The Assam Governor, S.K. Sinha, talked of the unresolved problem of the illegal immigrants from Bangladesh and how the insurgents still managed to get military support from outside sources.
The Deputy Prime Minister, L.K. Advani, responded to these concerns at the end of the second session. He said he deemed their interventions as ``guidance'' rather than observations made during a parliamentary debate. Mr. Advani cataloged the areas of concerns and successes in matter of internal security. Expressing satisfaction over the ``free and fair'' elections in Jammu and Kashmir, he promised help to Tamil Nadu and Karnataka in nabbing the sandalwood smuggler, Veerappan. Besides, Mr. Advani shared with the Governors the results of the recent conference of the Chief Secretaries and the Directors-General of Police.
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