Munugode poll result adds fuel to KCR-Tamilisai faceoff in Telangana

The latest faceoff between Raj Bhavan and Pragati Bhavan, Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao’s office-cum-residence, shows no signs of abating. Emboldened by the Munugode bypoll win, the ministers in the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) government have intensified their attack on Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan, alleging that she was sitting on many important bills, including the one related to filling up vacancies in the universities. In a counter-attack, Governor Tamilisai on Wednesday accused the KCR administration of tapping her phones.

Speaking at a press conference at the Raj Bhavan, Tamilisai said that TRS leader Krishank had wrongly linked her former ADC (aide-de-camp) Major Tushar Bhasin’s name to the TRS MLAs poaching case, in which three BJP middlemen had allegedly attempted to lure some KCR ministers to switch over to the BJP. Clarifying that Tushar had visited Raj Bhavan to greet her on Deepavali, the Governor said she had the apprehension that her phone was being tapped. She also sought to know why the Raj Bhavan was dragged into the unsavoury MLAs poaching controversy.

The origins of the tension

The Centre had appointed Tamil Nadu BJP chief Tamilisai as the new Governor of Telangana, replacing ESL Narasimhan, on September 2, 2019. It was a time when the TRS was still dealing with BJP’s surprise gains in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections: the saffron party had bagged four seats.

Chief Minister KCR had enjoyed an unconventional cordial relationship with ESL, who was a former IPS officer and IB chief. He used to treat the Governor as his guru, friend, teacher, brother, father, and guide. He even went to the extent of touching the Governor’s feet to get his blessings.

After five days, on Sept 7, 2019, in a farewell function organized for the Governor, the CM went overboard to say: “I have a special relationship with ESL Narasimhan. I have always regarded him as an elderly gentleman and elder brother. He also did not treat me as a CM but as a younger brother…. I have lost my parents. I don’t have an elder brother. I wanted to seek blessings from the elders before starting the construction work of the Yadadri Temple. For me, the Governor couple is the elders. Like a younger brother, I touched their feet and took blessings.”

What was the point KCR sought to drive home by this excessive praise of the outgoing Governor? Was he anticipating an end of bonhomie between Raj Bhavan and the government, with Tamilisai’s appointment? If so, why?

That he was not happy that Tamilisai was appointed Governor was made apparent by his Chief Public Relations Officer (CPRO) in an article he wrote in a local newspaper the very next day. The article, which appeared on the same day Tamilisai took oath as the Governor, cannot be brushed aside as the author’s personal opinion or a strange coincidence.
The bottomline of the article was that the CM was not consulted as required by the recommendations of the Sarkaria Commission before Tamilisai was picked as Governor. There was hue and cry on both sides. The BJP demanded an apology or a statement from the CM denying or distancing from the article as his aide wrote it in his capacity as the CM’s  Chief PRO.

Also read: Tamilisai Soundarajan spells out a litany of complaints against Telangana govt

The discontent sown by the appointment took little time to grow into a full-scale confrontation. Besides being much younger than the CM, Tamilisai comes from an active political background. Having contested several elections unsuccessfully in Tamil Nadu, she could not resist the temptation of becoming a proactive Governor ever since she took office, unlike her predecessor, who was apolitical, non-intrusive and more interested in visiting temples than converting Raj Bhavan into a ‘political office’.

Narasimhan used to protect KCR’s government from the attacks of the opposition parties. He had never allowed anti-government activities either by students or political parties to irk the CM. Protests before Raj Bhavan were either nil or minimal. The intimidating aura of ESL helped KCR to consolidate himself easily through his activities, fair or unfair. With his Brahminical and intellectual persona, ESL used to be the guardian angel of KCR, who made it a point to visit the Raj Bhavan at the drop of a hat.

Tamilisai, on the other hand, chose to tread a different path. She introduced Janata Darbar to interact with the public, installed a grievance box to receive grievances and suggestions, started interacting with vice-chancellors, began receiving delegations from opposition parties, and tried to enthusiastically guide the government at the time of the Covid crisis, stating that she was a doctor first.

Tamilisai also visited universities to look at the conditions on the campuses and took memoranda on the non-recruitment of faculty by the government for 8 years.  She even refused to nominate a TRS politician to the Legislative Council under Governor’s quota. Sources said the Tamilisai was peeved at news reports that the KCR government was mulling over the possibility of appointing the chief minister the Chancellor of all universities in place of the Governor.

Also, her frequent meetings with PM Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah have contributed to the distrust that crept in as the latter started talking about corruption in irrigation projects and dynastic rule in the state after the 2019 elections.

As a result, the government also began paying back in the same coin by withdrawing all courtesies and protocols to the Governor. This year’s Budget session commenced without the customary address by the Governor. The Collectors and SP stopped receiving her while she was on tour in districts. Chief Minister KCR skipped the high tea on ceremonial days. She was also denied the flag hoisting on Republic Day. Now, the government’s charge is that the Governor has refused to give assent to six important bills. What has irked the Tamilisai is the attempt to link her with the bribing of MLAs.

Also read: KCR seeks to unite opposition CMs embroiled in tiff with governors

Tamilisai alleged that the government was humiliating a woman and degrading the office of the Governor. Denying that she was holding important bills, she said she was waiting for more information from the state Education Minister Sabitha Indra Reddy before giving the assent as the Common Universities Recruitment Board should be free of legal issues.

More trouble ahead

With the Left parties and the TRS coming together, the state is expected to witness agitations against the withholding of the bills by the Governor. Reports in the local media indicate that the TRS and the Left are mobilising youth and students from universities to launch an agitation, demanding immediate assent to the Telangana Universities Common Recruitment Board Bill 2022, which was passed for recruitment of instructors in the state’s 17 public universities.

In fact, the Governor’s press conference on Wednesday was preceded by a demonstration by students. Reacting to the dharna, the Governor accused the Pragati Bhavan, which was out of bounds for students, of instigating it. “Why did these students not agitate when there were thousands of posts lying vacant for eight years?” she asked.

Meanwhile, TRS Vidyarthi (TRSV) members have warned that they will try to block PM Modi’s programme on November 12 at Ramagundam if the Governor did not give assent to the Universities Recruitment Bill. Curiously, the bill has been criticised by Madidala Esthari, Secretary of Kakatiya University Teachers Association, who sees it as the government’s attempt to control job recruitment in universities. Many teachers represented the Governor against the government’s move.

While the CM has been silent on the unfolding situation, CPI and CPM have become vocal against what they call the partisan role of the Governor. CPI state secretary Kunamneni Sambasiva Rao slammed that Raj Bhavan by terming it as ‘BJP Bhavan’.

“The Governor is only a rubber stamp. She is not a superpower on bills sent to her for assent. If she had any doubt about the bills, she could seek more information in writing from the government. Withholding assent for bills is unconstitutional,” Rao said.
CPM state secretary Tammineni Veerabhadram said the Governor’s office had become a political centre and was being used by the BJP to create hurdles for the elected government.

The natural fallout

Former IAS officer and advocate Md. Shafiquzzaman said the Governor- state government confrontation was inevitable when the Centre and the states are ruled by different parties.
“Earlier, the institution of the Governor was exploited by the Centre to impose Article 356 on the states. After the Bommai judgment, the deployment of Article 356 against states has become infeasible. Now, the ruling parties at the Centre and states, with opposing agenda, are competing for political space in the states. It is bound to create a confrontation between Raj Bhavan and the state government. This confrontation will only aggravate before the elections. What we are witnessing in Telangana is an inevitable fallout of change in political culture at the Centre vis-a-vis the states ruled by regional parties,” Shafiquzzaman, who is also an expert on constitutional matters, told The Federal.

The BJP, on the other hand, held Chief Minister KCR’s disdain for women to be responsible for the tension between the Raj Bhavan and the state government. Party spokesperson NV Subhash alleged that the TRS leadership has always been anti-women and harboured contempt for women holding higher positions. “The Telangana CM has been demonstrating his male-dominant attitude from the beginning. The present confrontation with Raj Bhavan has directly stemmed from the fact that an educated woman happens to be its occupant,” he said.