Chennai: The Raj Bhavan on Saturday stoutly defended Governor Banwarilal Purohit' district tours and review meetings as being perfectly legal as the Constitution, and said criticism against him “in various biased quarters” were “in poor taste reflecting the output of a jaundiced mind and a prejudiced outlook”.
Affirming that the Governor would continue his visits to various districts in the coming months as the first citizen of the State choosing to gather firsthand understanding of the strengthens and problems of the places and people, a Raj Bhavan release gave a detailed explaining of the various Constitutional provisions to drive home the fact that the Governor “has the complete power to obtain any information connected with the administration of the State and to visit various parts without any restrictions”. The acquisition of such knowledge first-hand must be seen as subserving the constitutional function of his office, and not detracting from it, it said.
“As the head of the State Executive, all executive actions are always taken in his name, either directly by him, or through the administrative officials in the service under the state. The Executive Government in the form of the Council of Ministers is appointed by him. In a sense, there exists a direct connection between the Governor and the State's administration through the concerned Ministers. The existence of such a connection indicates that there exists a two-way responsibility that the Governor and the Executive wing of Government bear to each other”, the release said.
The release made an appeal to the “persons who are ignorant of the provisions of the Constitution or those who are prejudiced against the office of the Governor should desist from making comments or recording views which are illegal in nature”. The Governor was acting “entirely in public interest and for promoting the welfare of the common people by motivating the administration of the district level through the meetings and the presentations being made to him by the District Collector and senior government officials”, said the release from Additional Chief Secretary to Governor, R. Rajagopal.
The Governor's being a Constitutional Office, it deserved respect and honour, said the release, adding, “Attempting to disrespect the constitutional office will be deemed to be illegal and singularly unworthy of democratic appreciation”.
