New Delhi: Home minister Rajnath Singh said on Friday that the Centre had not sought the removal of Uttarakhand governor Aziz Qureshi, who had moved the Supreme Court over the government’s move to ease him out.
A day after the SC issued notice to the Centre, Mr Singh said, “There is no move to remove him.” A reply will soon be filed, he added.
Speaking to a news agency, Mr Singh said, “There was no move to remove him. He holds the Constitutional post with the pleasure of the President.”
The Union home minister maintained that no pressure was exerted for Mr Qureshi’s removal and said that a response will be filed before the apex court soon. The Government will be filing an “appropriate reply to the Supreme Court” in response to Mr Qureshi’s decision to approach the apex court, he said.
Sources in the MHA said that any conversation between Union home secretary Anil Goswami and Mr Qureshi cannot be interpreted in any way that he was being pressurised to quit. The MHA is also confident of its move, as in all other cases where UPA appointees in gubernatorial posts had quit their charge in last three months, it has “resignation letters” of the governors.
“The UPA appointed governors who quit their charge in the last three months had resigned themselves. In two cases, the President dismissed them on various grounds which have been documented,” an official said.
The SC while seeking the response of the Centre has also issued notice to Union home secretary Anil Gos-wami who had allegedly threatened Governor Mr Qureshi to resign or face removal by Centre. Mr Qureshi claimed Mr Goswami had called him on July 30 and asked him to tender resignation.
